Harbor of Tears
by MetallicAngel30
Summary: A time-travel story, where Bella finds herself in the past as a nurse stationed at Pearl before the attack. Where she will find her heart once again in love and possibly broken by our favorite pilot. A bit OOC Bella. I wanted her to feel the loss of her first love but be rational about it to move on without too much theatrics.
1. Old Mr Walker

_**A/N 8/27/2018: This little gem took root while I was at work, and I must say, I am very excited for it! It has me practically giddy to write again! I think the inspiration struck once I found out Josh Hartnett is from Minnesota. I'm in MN! XD I hope y'all like it!**_

 _ **Updated A/N 8/31/2018: So it turns out. I hate writing in the first person. I don't like that you only get the feelings and emotions of one side, the person who's eyes you are looking through. It is an interesting perspective, I'll give that much, but I'm no good at it. So I am rewriting this story to be in the third person. Hopefully, I won't have to do so many time skips and I get more content from it. That is the goal and I'm sure the difference with me writing in the third person rather than the first. Also, it should make things more smooth as far as the story line goes. Fingers crossed people. Please review and let me know what y'all think.**_

Being without the one you love is a soul deep kind of torture. Bella assumed that was why old Mr. Walker and her got along so well. Both of their souls were screaming out for the loves they had lost. The only difference she could see, was that Mr. Walker had lost his love over 60 years previous during the bombardment of Pearl Harbor.

Their paths crossed at Newton's Outfitters while Bella was working one day after Edward had left her alone in the woods behind her house. She was trying, for Charlie. Mostly because she didn't want to go to her mother's in Jacksonville. However, no matter how much she seemed to try, she still felt dead inside. It was a look that was seemingly imprinted in her eyes and one Mr. Walker knew of all too well. She had notice him pausing at the entrance when he caught sight of her. He paled as though he had seen a ghost, to use a cliché turn of phrase, but he eventually managed to compose himself and go about his business. He gave her a sad sort of smile when he came up to the register to pay for his purchases, but he didn't speak until the transaction was done. When he did it was a quote.

"Ever has it been that love knows not it's own depth until the hour of separation," he said softly. Bella gave him a quizzical look. It was the first hint of interest she had shown in weeks, and she smiled back as she recognized the quote.

"Kahlil Gibran," she informed him. It seemed to knock the last remnants of her depression away. It wasn't the all encompassing pain of losing a soul mate, but it was the bittersweet pain of losing a first love. It still hurt, but not cruelly. At least not on that front. She still had abandonment and now, trust issues, because of the way Edward and the Cullen family had left her. She found a kinship with Old Mr. Walker, and from then on, they would meet regularly just to talk.

Sometimes they would meet at the local coffee shop, and other times at his home. After a point, she was spending as much time with him as she was with Jacob, who seemed delighted at her newfound zest for life. That was, until Jake had caught what she thought was the stomach flue that had been going around. Even Mike had caught it, and they all had to leave the movies once he started tossing his cookies. Then she had it. She had called to check up on Jake every day after she had passed the 24 hour period, but Billy seemed to get shorter and shorter with her, until eventually, he said that Jake would call her once he had gotten over his particularly bad case of Mono.

Bella missed Jake, but she found solace in Mr. Walker. Her visits had become practically daily, as she settled into a new routine. She would wake up and go to school, where she had begun reconnection with certain friends, the first being Angela. After school, she would immediately go see Mr. Walker and make sure that he was taking his meds and eating properly. After all, she didn't want him dying on her yet, even if he was in his late 80's. She had just befriended him, and he told the best stories.

Her life story, she felt, was over rather quickly. She hadn't done much, she thought, in her short 18 years of life. Mr. Walker on the other hand had a lifetime of stories. Sure, the Cullen's had all lived for decades, centuries even, but none of them really offered up much on what they had experienced. Carlisle did the most, but he didn't delve into his feelings during the circumstances he was telling. Mr. Walker was a born orator. He told her of his life growing up on a farm in Tennessee, which she gathered, was where his slight accent came from. He told her about his best friend, a man he saw as more of a brother really, and how they joined the Army Air Corpse just before America entered into World War II. He said he had even been stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack, with Rafe's, his friend's then girl friend, and Mr. Walker's girl.

Bella's heart broke for him as he recounted what happened while he was stationed at Pearl Harbor. From the idyllic peace of the islands before the attack, when he had gotten word that Rafe's plane had been shot down and he had been assumed KIA, how he had pushed away the woman he loved, and started seeing Evelyn. And then he eventually told Bella about the day of the attack by the Japanese. Mr. Walker weeped as he recounted him and his newly returned from the dead friend made it into the sky and shot down planes over Battleship Row. His sobs becoming nearly uncontrollable once he reached the part about finding his love, the girl he had left for Evelyn, dead, as she protected a friend from a falling bomb. It took some time after that for him to finish his story.

A few days after finding out what happened to Mr. Walker's girl, he told Bella the rest of his story. How, in his grief over losing his love, he never named her, and Bella, knowing the pain saying the name of a lost loved one can cause, never pushed, he had joined in the Doolittle Raid to retaliate against Japan for the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He had managed to survive crashing his plane in China, survived being shot as he protected Rafe, only to come home and see Evelyn had been carrying a child. Assuming the child to be Rafe's, seeing as he and Evelyn hadn't been involved after Rafe returned, he immediately requested a transfer to the front, where he served out the rest of his deployment with the RAF, and then lost all contact with his friends. He couldn't take seeing Evelyn after losing the love of his life. Especially since he had never been able to make it right.

Both Bella and Daniel, he had said she could use his name, given how she had now seen him at a very vulnerable moment, cried on each other. Bella coming to the realization that what she had felt for Edward had paled embarrassingly in the face of the love Danial still carried for his girl, even 64 years after her death.

Bella became obsessed in finding Daniel's friends for him. He said that he had wanted to get back in touch with them, but at first he was unsure about the reception he would get and then he felt that too much time had passed. Bella asked if she could try to find them for him. He agreed, but only because he wanted to set things right now that he was at what he thought was the end of his life. Bella set to work immediately, and with a vigor that she never put into her school work. Sure, she got good grades, but she didn't particularly enjoy the work. Finding Daniel's friends, she felt, was so much more of a calling for her than her school work, however.

She combed through the internet, trying to track everyone down, particularly Rafe or Evelyn. She eventually lucked out on Facebook of all places. She had found a Rafe McCawley who looked to be about the same age as Daniel. His generation at the very least. Taking a chance, she sent him a message.

 _Dear Mr. McCawley,_

 _You don't know me, but I am hoping to locate a long lost friend for someone very important to me. He has told me such stories of him and his friends in his youth. Stories that have made me laugh until I cried, and others that broke my heart beyond all reason. I feel as if I have friends in those I have never met, in a completely bygone time, all because of one man. Someone who managed to break me out of my own heartbreak over a boy who couldn't be bothered to break up with me properly, and in whom I have found a true and wonderful friend. The man I am looking for served as a pilot in WWII with the Eagle Squadron in England. He was then stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack by the Japanese, and participated in a Raid under Colonel Doolittle as a retaliatory measure. Please, if you are the Rafe McCawley I am looking for, if you are the same man who dated a one Evelyn Johnson, and had friends named Gooze, odd name by the way, Red, Anthony, Billy and a Colonel Doolittle, please write back to me. My friend, a one Daniel Walker, really misses the man he once considered a brother._

 _Awaiting anxiously for your reply, Yours most sincerely, Bella S._

Bella was anxious for the rest of the week. Finally, as she checked her notifications for the 6th time that day, she saw she had a reply. She was so shocked she finally got a reply, that she ended up staring at the screen for an hour and a half, just biting her lip. She was anxious. Hoping to every deity she knew of that this was the right man, but scared that it was a reply politely telling her that she had the wrong man. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and opened the reply. She read the first few lines, and let go the breath she had unconsciously held, having it all come out in one loud gust.

 _Dear Bella,_

 _I do believe I am the Rafe McCawley you are looking for. I served with the Eagle Squadron, and was in Hawaii during Pearl Harbor. It came as quite a shock to me and my wife, Evelyn, to receive you message. We had tried keeping in touch with Danny after he transferred off island to the front, but he never returned our letters, and after the war had ended, he seemed to fall off the face of the world. We had searched and searched for many years, but eventually gave up hope that he had made it out of the war alive. Your letter, it filled me with that hope once again, miss., as well as a nervous anticipation. He kept his distance after we landed home from China, and I didn't even know he had transferred until it was done. I had to ask Colonel Doolittle himself where Danny had gone. You see, neither my wife, Evelyn, or I got to tell him some rather important news. Danny, my Danny, has a son. Evelyn was pregnant when we left, but she asked me to keep it secret until we had got home safe, wanting to tell him herself. By the time we returned four months later, she was showing. I could see the shock on Danny's face, and I can only assume that he thought the child was mine, and didn't want to get in the way of any happiness Evelyn and I might try to find together._

 _Please understand that this was a conclusion that both my wife and I came to after many many years. But what he didn't seem to realize is that he was rather a large part of our happiness as well. We waited until after we had given up hope and come to the conclusion he had died in the war, before we resumed our romance once again and marry. His son, Danny Jr., is a retired Army pilot himself, and is now running a charter service out of Tuscon._

 _We, that is me, Ev, and D.J., and all of our friends that are still with us, would love to see him, as we miss him greatly. Please, tell us where we can locate him, so we may visit._

 _With extreme gratitude,_

 _Rafe McCawley_

Bella was in shock once she finished Rafe's reply. Evelyn had had a child by Daniel. Bella felt the merest hint of jealousy at the knowledge that Evelyn would be back in his life. It was completely irrational. For one, Daniel was approaching 90. Way too old for her. But it was the thought that another woman would have a claim to his affections, romantic, friendly, or otherwise. It didn't help that the two had a son together.

Bella sighed, squashing the feeling relentlessly, and printed Rafe's reply for Daniel. The news that he had a son was too important to just leave as a surprise for when they arrived. Daniel was going to be surprised as it was, she figured. As predicted, Bella had to make sure that he wasn't having a heart attack when he found out. He was, of course, extremely shocked, but there was a sad sort of happiness in his eyes as he reread Rafe's words for the dozenth time.

Bella and Daniel spoke until lunch, when Daniel had to remind her that he couldn't let his blood sugar fall too low. That was as bad as it being to high! On her way to the kitchen to make them something to eat, insisting that he remain in his chair, she saw that he had put up more pictures on what she liked to call his wall of memories.

"You have new pictures up," she remarked as she studied the new additions. Daniel got up out of his chair and made his way beside her.

"I do. I've been going through a stint of nostalgia, and decided to dig out some old pictures," he said.

"Do any of them have you in them. I swear, you are more camera shy than my father," she joked. Daniel chuckled and nodded, pointing to a photo of a young man in uniform. Back lit as only those old photos could be.

"That's you?" she asked incredulously. "Holy Buckets Batman! You're hot!" Bella exclaimed before remembering her filter and slapped her hands over her mouth, trying to cram the words back in. She blushed, and Daniel gave a loud guffaw.

"I knew it too. I was a horrible flirt in those days, but was awful at actually mustering up the courage to ask a girl out. I practically screamed it at my girl the first time I asked her. I was surprised she understood me with all of the words mashed together." She smiled at the sweet little scene in her head where a blushing Daniel was asking a beautiful Navy Nurse out on a Date.

"Who is that?" she asked, pointing to the photo of what looked like another rather handsome soldier.

"Ah. That's Rafe. He had more confidence when it came to asking girls out, but still made a fool of himself and managed to break his own nose asking Evelyn out," he told her. It was Bella's turn to laugh loudly.

"Do you have any pictures of your girl?" Bella asked. Daniel nodded.

"Just one. She wasn't much for taking pictures, so her face is half covered," he said pointing to a picture next to Rafe's. She was gorgeous from what Bella could see. Long dark hair, half blown over her face on a windy day. "I had to sneak that, and she only let me keep it because you can't see all of her face. Even though she was the most gorgeous creature I ever beheld, she still thought herself less that what she was."

Next to the photo of Daniel's girl was the picture of another dark haired beauty.

"That's Evelyn. I had to bribe a friend to get that for me. Betty, she was the one my- she was the one she pushed out of the way of the bomb when she saw it falling," he said thickly, blinking rapidly in the vain hope of dispelling the tears. Bella put her arm around Daniel as he started to cry once more for his lost love, and steered him back to his chair, covering his legs with an old blanket.

"Would you still like me to make you something for lunch?" she asked. Daniel was silent for a while as he composed himself.

"No, thank you. I'm afraid I've lost my appetite. I am tired. I think I may just rest here for a while. Why don't you go out and enjoy the rest of your day. You are an angel as it is looking after a love sick old man such as I," he says.

"You are my best friend, Daniel. Why wouldn't I come see you? I'll come by tomorrow after school. And make sure you have an appetite then, because I am making my gran's lasagna," she tells him in an attempt to liven his spirits. It works a little as he gives her a genuine smile, but he is still thinking on his love.

Bella left, heading home, where she sent a reply to Rafe before heading to bed. The next few days were rather uneventful for Bella as she corresponded with Rafe and kept Daniel company. Daniel was ready to go and see them, but it seemed unanimously agreed upon by his friends that they would all come and see him. However, considering their ages, the fact that they were driving and needed frequent stops, it took them another month to get things together and arrive.

They managed to hit town that Friday night according to the phone call she had received from a man named Gooze,who seemed a screw loose upstairs, but they had decided to wait until the next morning. Deciding she wanted to celebrate, for no other reason than to celebrate, Bella went to the store so she and Charlie could indulge in steak and potatoes and berry cobbler. The cobbler was good at the diner, but there was something about fresh homemade cobbler.

The store was relatively quiet for a friday evening, but she wasn't going to complain. That meant she would easily be able to get the good steak at the back of the display, knowing they put the slightly older cuts up front, wanting them to sell. Bella found the two she wanted, but had to embarrassingly lean so far into the display so as to look like a cartoon character stuck in a trash can, to reach them. But reach them she did, and once she was able to stand up straight and pull them out, she did a little happy dance. A dance that seemed to be witnessed as she heard chuckling behind her. Turning around, she saw three elderly people, two women and a vaguely familiar man watching as she hit paydirt.

Bella blushed at having been seen doing something so childish, but completely missed the shocked and frozen looks of the three in front of her.

"Sorry about my display. I needed to get to the good cuts of meat for supper with my dad." she explained. When none of the three in front of her answered, she began to fidget.

"Well, see you guys around," she said, turning to leave.

"Wait, please," said a silver haired beauty. She looked to be in her late 70's maybe early 80's.

"I'm Betty," she said. "I'm sorry for our reactions. You just look so much like an old friend of ours," she said and Bella couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. She suppose everyone had a doppleganger out there somewhere. Then her name reminded Bella of the story Daniel told her about losing his love.

"Betty. Betty Bayer?" she asked.

"Sweetie, I've been Betty Winkle for the past 60 years," she said. "I take it you are Bella."

"Yes. I had planned on meeting you tomorrow with Daniel, but I suppose even after a long trip you need to eat," Bella said holding out her hand as she introduced herself. Betty shook her head and bypassed Bella's outstretched hand to give her a hug. Bella froze for a moment, not liking a stranger in her personal space. But she eventually did return Betty's hug. Betty was just so likable.

"These two statues behind me that have yet to find their tongues are Rafe and Evelyn McCawley," Betty introduced. Bella's breath caught in her chest, seeing the two most important people to Daniel. She had to force herself to remember to actually speak to them.

"I—it's nice to meet you," she said, holding a hand out to Rafe. Both he and his wife seemed to finally shake off the last vestiges of shock, and he took her hand gently but firmly in both of his, as Evelyn had tears gathering in her eyes.

"It's lovely to meet you as well, Bella," he said in a low voice with an accent very similar to Daniel's. Bella smiled at the man, enjoying the sense of security he seemed to put off.

"Daniel has told me so much about you guys, I'm sure I know more about you than myself at this point. He's had a rough day though. He was telling me about some new pictures he had put up today, and was telling me about his girlfriend. He misses her so much. It's a good thing everyone decided to meet tomorrow," I tell them. Rafe and Evelyn nodded in understanding, and Betty began lightly crying in remembrance.

"She was truly such a compassionate soul," Rafe said thickly, and gave a light squeeze to Bella's hand before letting it go.

"Well, I'm sorry to meet you and run, but I have to get home and make supper before my dad's shift at the station ends. I want this to be a surprise for him," Bella said, holding up the basket that contained their supper. "It was great to meet you all."

"It was nice to meet you as well, Bella. We will see you tomorrow?" Evelyn asked in a strong but questioning voice. Bella nodded and beamed at them all.

"I wouldn't miss it even if I was hog tied naked in the middle of downtown New York during rush hour," she said, blushing at her analogy, but the sentiment behind it was nonetheless true.

"There's an image. We'll see you tomorrow, then, Bella," Betty said as Bella turned to the registers to make her purchase.

Bella's rather impromptu celebratory supper was a success for Charlie, even if he didn't know the occasion. Bella spent the rest of the night and the next morning in high spirits. She was moved to tears when Daniel got to see his friends again for the first time in over 60 years, and laughed at all of the stories that followed. Danny Jr. was quite like his biological father. In both looks and personality. Both were rather soft spoken and to the point when they spoke. They had the same brown hair and dark brown eyes, though Daniel's were clouded more with age.

Seeing this and riding the high of the good mood in the atmosphere, Bella decided to drive to La Push and visit her slightly estranged friend. She didn't care if he had Mono, she wanted to talk to Jake. It started to pour as she made her way there and she was slightly surprised to see he was leaving his house. She was slightly angry, as she was told he was too sick to call her back, let alone leave the house in the pouring rain.

Bella got out of her truck and ran, tripping slightly, to catch up to him.

"Jake! Hey," she called as she came even to him.

Jake turned to her and she was surprised at the changes in the young man.

"You cut you hair off? And got a tattoo?" she asked, seeing the ink on his shoulder.

"Bella," he said. Her emotions started getting the better of her and Bella couldn't hold back the storm she wanted to unleash on him.

"I thought you were too sick to come outside. Or pick up the phone when I call," she said with an edge to her voice.

"Go away," he said softly, but she had a hard time hearing him over the falling rain.

"What?" she asked.

"Go away," he repeated a little more loudly.

"What happened to you? What's wro—Hey!" she said, grabbing his arm as he turned away.

"What happened? Did Same get to you? Is that what's happening?" she asked. She knew that he had been afraid of becoming one of his clones.

Jake looked at her with a touch of anger in his eyes. "Sam's trying to help me. Done blame him. But if you want somebody to blame, how about those filthy bloodsuckers you love, the Cullen's."

Bella paled a bit. Both at the fact that he seemed to know about the Cullen's being vampires and the fact that he had said their name aloud. It didn't hurt as much as it did, She could say their names and remember the good, but she would always feel the abandonment keenly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she tried to dodge, but Jake was able to see through her.

"No, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You've been lying to everyone. Charlie, But you can't lie to me. Not anymore, Bella."

"Jacob," they heard a call from the tree line. They both looked to see Sam, Jared, Paul, and Embry at the tree line, waving to him. "Jacob."

"Look, Bella, we can't be friends anymore," he said. Bella moved her arm so it was wrapped around her. It was Edward leaving all over again.

"Look, Jake, I know that I've been hurting you. It's killing me. It kills me. I just need...Maybe give me, like, some time, or something," but he cut her off.

"Look, don't. It's not you," he told her. Bella scoffed.

"It's not you, it's me, right? Really?" she asked, as if she couldn't believe he would go for such a cliché line.

"It's true, It is me. I'm not good. I used to be a good kid. Not anymore. This doesn't even matter. All right? This is over," he said with finality.

"You can't break up with me," Bella said desperately.

He was her sun. And Daniel. While Jake shed light and warmth into the dark and darkening corners of her heart, it was Daniel and his stories that used the light to super glue her heart back together.

"I mean-, I mean you're my best friend. You promised me."

"I know. I promised I wouldn't hurt you, Bella. And this is me keeping that promise. Go home and don't come back or you're gonna get hurt," he tells her sternly before turning and running to the boys that stood at the edge of the wood.

Tears began to fall, mixing with the rain. Bella couldn't help but feel that she had made a massive mistake. She blindly made her way back to her truck and somehow managed to get on the road again. She tried to wipe her tears away with her sleeve, but more just seemed to take their place. She had just crossed the La Push/Forks boarder when something ran into her truck with such force, it was like she had run into a tree. Bella went flying through the windshield, having forgotten to buckle herself in in her grief.

Glass shards littered her body, but it was the particularly deep gash in her neck with a large piece of glass suck in it that was to be the end of her. As she lay there, sprawled half in and half out of her truck, she saw a familiar red head approach.

"Finally," Victoria said. She didn't elaborate what she was there for. Bella already knew.

"I am ever so glad I get to watch you die, Bella. I'm even going to video tape it, just as my Jame was going to. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll have a supporting cast," she said as she produced a video camera. Bella saw the little red light indicating that Victoria was recording.

"Now zoom in on the wound," she said before she reached out and yanked the shard of glass as painfully as possible out of Bella's neck. Bella cried out as the pain shot through her, and then she saw the world tilt as blood started leaving her body with every pump of her heart.

"Ooooh, the extras have arrived. Good. I better get some good seats. I would say it has been a pleasure meeting you Bella, but truth be told, I'd rather have my James than you in the world anyday."

Victoria then disappeared as a car made it's way around the bend and stop near her truck.

"Oh my god, Bella!" she heard the familiar voice of Daniel call out. Betty and Rafe were with him as they made their way to her. Daniel and Rafe gently pulled her the rest of the way out of her truck, and Betty immediately put pressure on her neck.

"I don't know how long this has been bleeding," Betty said hurriedly. Rafe took out a cell and called 9-1-1, as Daniel tried to comfort her.

"Hang on, Bella. We're calling for help."

"Dani-" she managed, trying to say good bye. She could feel herself dying.

"Don't talk. You can tell me later," he pleaded with her. Bella shook her head as much as she could.

"I—it's ok-okay," she said, feeling and tasting the blood pooling in her mouth. That's never a good sign. She had to get this out quick.

"Y-you were m-mmm-mmy t-t-ugh-truest f-fff-fffriend. T-thank y-yo-you," she finally managed. She could only just make out Danny shaking his head as the edges of her vision darkened.

"No. No, Bella. You were my truest friend. One I could never deserve. You gave me back my family. I will never be able to repay that. Certainly not if you're dead! Stay with me!" he urged.

Bella's breathing became softer and more shallow. She gathered the last of her energy, forcing her hand to squeeze his with half of it and using the rest to tell him one last wish.

"I wish I had met you sooner. I wish we had more time." And with that, Bella's body went lax in death. Daniel, Rafe, and Betty were all crying.

"No! No, not again. Bella? Bella, c'mon," Daniel tried to rouse her. "BELLA!"


	2. Meeting Danny

**_A/N 8/28/2018: Ok, so I wrote this after the worst day I've had in a very long time. And I wrote half of it on the side of the highway waiting for a tow truck after my back tire disintegrated. Writing this has now become more than a story, it seems to now be the one thing that will most easily calm me down. I hope y'all enjoy it. Please let me know, so I'll know whether or not to keep writing it or if I'm just rambling to myself._**

 ** _A/N 9/3/2018: Oh boy, rewriting this chapter needed a bit of self motivation. I have a three day weekend and I didn't want to do anything, but I couldn't in good conscience not put at least one chapter up. Now that I forced myself to write this, I want to push myself to put up one more chapter. So I'm hoping to have chapter 3 up later today. Fingers crossed, y'all! ~Angel_**

Bella shot awake with a startled gasp and sat up to take stock of her surroundings. She mused that if this was an afterlife, it was certainly a different way to go about it. It looked as if everything was circa 1940s. Looking around she saw that there were five other beds in the rather spacious room with her. It was then she was hit with memories. She shook her head in confusion and against the sudden headache at the sudden onslaught of information.

She could clearly remember her life in the 21st century and her experiences with and death at, the hands of vampires. But she also seemed to have memories of growing up during the Great Depression. Of joining the Navy Nursing Corpse and her training to become a nurse. She remembered the names of the five girls in the room with her and remembered that she was very good friends with the one named Betty, though she looked up to Evelyn as a sister.

Bella felt awash in confusion, wondering how she had gotten here, because, from her memories alone, she could tell that this wasn't an afterlife. Well, that and the fact that when she replayed a rather cliché scene where she pinched herself and felt pain. You don't feel pain in dreams and when you were dead right? So, she figured that this had to be real. It was then that an alarm went off somewhere, and all of the girls in the room started to stir and slowly awaken. It took a few moments for Betty to realize that Bella was awake.

"You're already up, Bizzy?" she asked. Bella, while never hearing the nickname before, smiled at the memories that popped into her head of when Betty had given it to her. It was because Bella was so hard working and seemed to work relentlessly all the time that she combined Bella and Izzy to make a play on words.

"Bad dream," Bella replied. "I died."

Betty groaned. "Oh I hate those. And they seem to have only gotten worse what with things getting crazy with the war in Europe."

"I'm afraid America will be pulled into this war kicking and screaming sooner or later with how bad things are getting," Evelyn put in as she approached.

"You two had better get a move on before all of the hot water is gone. We want to look sharp for our promotion ceremony."

Bella tilted her head to one side wondering what Evelyn was talking about. Then she remembered that upon completion of their training, the were all to be given their ranks and orders. Evelyn was set to be a full on First Lieutenant while she and Betty would be Second Lieutenants. Bella smiled. If only Charlie could see her now. Then the smile faded as she realized Charlie wasn't here in this time, and it seems the parents who raised her were gone as well. Her father killed as he was working what farming jobs there were still there during the Depression, and her mother of a broken heart. Bella had joined the Navy to have steady employment and food. Although the first one was hard to come by even in the Navy, though at least the government was more likely to help you look for said employment.

Betty picked up on her mood and offered Bella her own smile. It seemed to Bella that she knew where her thoughts had taken her. "I am sure that your mama and daddy are both very proud of you, Bella," she said gently.

Bella's smile returned a bit as she nodded and got up so she could get ready for the day. Being in a time that it seemed women didn't wear jeans outside of manual labor jobs, Bella seemed to be more accustomed to wearing skirts in this time as she donned her Dress Whites after a quick, slightly warm shower. She then pulled her hair up out of her face, the military not allowing for loose hair in any time, and picked up her cover on the way out the door with Betty so they could hunt down some breakfast.

Despite the lack of the technology that was at her fingertips in the 21st century, time seemed to fly by even faster for Bella in this time than it did then. Bella mused that it was possibly the fact that people actually interacted with each other more. They knew how to tell stories and were more conscious of their lives, taking pride in the way they lived them. Even if they were so modest as they were during the middle of the worst Depression in history.

Bella felt a surge of pride as she was pinned with her ranking during the ceremony and handed an envelope that contained her next duty station. She saluted her Commander as he moved on to Martha, who was standing next to her. All in all, she liked her time in the military. She really should have given more thought to joining in her high school years in 2005. But all of her plans for the future evaporated when she met Edward Cullen. He had become her whole world to an unhealthy degree, and she affirmed that she wouldn't let that happen in this time. If she were to find love in 1940, she had been right on the money with that guess, she would let it develop naturally.

Once the pinning ceremony was over, everyone headed out to celebrate. They had decided to take their papers with them so they could all find out where they were to be stationed together. After they had all seated, they opened their orders and Bella was surprised that they were all stationed at the same place. Fort Detrick in Maryland.

"I'm surprised we all got the same duty station," Betty said as they all confirmed where they were going.

"Even if we aren't in the war yet, there are some young men who can feel the fight coming and are using the selective draft legislation that just went through to their advantage," Evelyn said.

Bella nodded in understanding. Men 18 to 25 still had to register for selective service in the future, even if there hadn't been a draft since the Vietnam War. And that was a war, not the official name of a conflict. Too many men died painfully and those that survived were haunted by what they saw.

"Well, enough of business," Martha said, breaking the solemn atmosphere. "We are here to celebrate our success as nurses. Tomorrow, Fort Detrick, tonight, fun, food, and friends." Bella smile and clinked her glass lightly to Martha's as everyone joined in. It was a night of laughter and Bella enjoyed herself more than she ever thought she would in a gaggle of giggling girls.

Once they had arrived at Fort Detrick, all of the new arrivals were given the nickel tour of the facilities and their rooms before they were told to report for duty. It seemed to be a mad house as the Army pilots were there to get their check ups and to make sure they were healthy enough to fly. Tensions eventually caused tempers to thin, but Bella tried to keep things light.

Where Barbara was driving the vaccination needle unnecessarily hard into her patients, Bella tried the gentler approach, even if she was just giving auditory exams. But she knew that wasn't to last. The head nurse had been rotating them to different positions throughout the day so that she could judge their skills and strengths. It wasn't long before she found herself working beside Evelyn giving eye exams. It was there she first saw him. Daniel. Remembering the first time she saw his picture and her outburst that he had been "hot", nothing came close to the young man standing before her in real life.

Daniel stood a respectable 6'2" with dark brown hair that looked slightly shaggy. In the 21st century, it would have been too long by military standards, but she supposed things were a bit more lax in hair regulation during the 40's. He was speaking softly to his friend, a man Bella recognized from Daniel's wall of memories as Rafe. She could hear thier conversation as they drew near.

"I'm gonna fail. They're gonna take my wings away," Rafe said in despair, as they passed a man who was failed at another station.

"No they won't," Daniel assured his friend. Bella's heart gave a skip at the sound of his voice. This man was definately not in his late 80's. "Just relax."

They joined Evelyn's line, where Rafe was looking at a small cheat sheet in his hand, and mumbling what what written on it.

"Just keep practicin' the bottom line. And don't worry. I'm right behind you," he said to Rafe in little more than a whisper.

"J-L-M-K-P-O-" Rafe kept on right up until it was his turn. He startled a bit when the man in front of him finished and handed him the eye covering for his turn.

"Next," Evelyn called without looking uo from her work, holing out her hand for Rafe's chart.

"Ma'am," he said politely, giving her the folder.

Bella saw Evelyn open Rafe's chart, but she hadn't really read any of it before Rafe put the eye covering over his right eye and belted out the bottom line.

"J-L-M-K-P-O-E-T-X. Eyes like an eagle, ma'am," he said with a satisfied smile.

"Slow down, flyboy," Evelyn said, unimpressed. "And, instead of the bottom, read the very top. Both eyes."

Rafe gave a nervous chuckle before looking at the board with determination. He squinted at it as if he were having a hard time seeing it.

"C. Sorry. J. C. W. Q, uh, Q." It was then Evelyn looked up at Rafe. She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but Bella could tell, that this was the first step in the possibility that Evelyn wouldn't pass Rafe.

"Read the bottom line again, please. But read it right to left, and every other letter." As Bella was marking off her last patient, she saw Rafe swallow in nervousness before his look of concentration redoubled.

"E. X." he began, but Daniel corrected him hurriedly in a hushed whisper from behind him.

"X. E."

"X-E. X-E, ma'am."

Evelyn gave a soft sigh and looked down, but Rafe wasn't for giving up.

"Ma'am, I know how this looks," he began.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant, I really am. But Army and Navy requires 20/20 vision," Evelyn explained.

"Oh, I- it's – it's-, it's not a problem with my eyes," he rushed out. "I mean, I can see. I mean I can hit a running rabbit with a $3 pistol. I got a problem with letters, that's all." Bella groaned softly. Rafe was only making it seem worse.

"Well, maybe after some schooling, you could come back and take the test again."

"No, I had schooling. I mean, I-, the teachers just never knew what to make of it. It's just letters. I mix them up sometimes, that all. I mean, I just get 'em backward sometimes."

Evelyn studied Rafe, trying to make out his angle, Bella supposed. She was about to jump in and help him out, when he continued, pointing down to something on his chart.

"L-look here. Uh, my- my math, and- and my spacial reasoning, and my verbal scores are all excellent."

"But you barely passed the written exam," Evelyn pointed out.

"Yeah, but he did pass it. So, is it my turn now?" Daniel asked in an attempt to sneak the fact by Evelyn. Evelyn however, didn't do things by half.

"No, you'll wait your turn," she said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am," he said politely before looking down and away. Bella decided it was now time to jump in.

"Ev, wait," she said, standing and making her way to Evelyn's table. She looked at Rafe.

"It's just letters? Or is it numbers as well? Are you able to differentiate shapes?" Bella asked. Rafe perked up at the thought that someone might understand what was going on with his quirk.

"Numbers are 50/50, which is why I was able to pass math as well as any other class. Shapes are just fine. I can tell a star from a pentagon from 30 feet," Rafe explained.

"It's word-blindness, Ev," Bella explained to her friend. "It was first documented in Germany of all places, in the 1870's. Recently, though, they've been comparing a person like this gentleman here to people who suffer from strokes to see if it is in the head or a physical problem with the brain. The medical term is Dyslexia. He's as fit as a fiddle otherwise."

Daniel and Rafe both looked at Evelyn in hope, and Bella smiled one the scene. Rafe pressed his advantage.

"Ma'am, I-I-I'm never gonna be an English teacher. But I know why I'm here. To be a pilot. And you don't dog fight with manuals. You don't fly with gauges. I mean, it's all about feeling and speed, and lettin' that plane become like a part of your body. And that manual says that a guy who's a slow reader can't be a good pilot. That file says I'm the best pilot in this room." Bella was impressed with Rafe's speech, and smiled as she saw Evelyn waver at his smooth words.

"Ma'am, please, don't take my wings," Rafe pleaded.

"Evelyn, rotate to station 3," said the head nurse before she walked away. Evelyn didn't say anything, but Bella saw her reach for the pass stamp before she emphatically stamped it in his file and smiled as she handed his chart back to him and went to her new station. Bella smiled and turned to Daniel.

"Looks like I'm doing your exam, Sir. Come on. I promise it won't hurt." Rafe and Daniel smiled at her and followed her to her station.

"How did you know about my problem with letters? You are the first one I've ever known to put a name to it," Rafe asked.

Bella sat down and held her hand out for Daniel's chart, which he handed to her, before she opened it and began marking. "It's not as uncommon as it's made out to be. My best guess is that about 5% of the population has it, and that's a conservative number. I like to read in my spare time, and most of the things on hand happen to be medically related."

Bella held out the eye covering to Daniel. "Okay, Mr. Walker. Place that over your left eye, and read the bottom line right to left please," she instructed.

"Danny. My name is Danny," he said in a soft voice. It was almost a whisper. Bella looked up and smiled at him.

"Danny it is, then. Everyone calls me Bella. The bottom line, please," she instructed once more. Danny read the bottom line for her, and then the top four when she asked. He then covered his right eye and repeated the process.

"Okie Dokie, Lieutenant. You are fine and fit as a fiddle," Bella said, stamping his chart and handing it back to him.

"Thank you. For everything. Not many people would have helped had they been in your shoes," Danny said.

"Oh, I don't know. People may surprise you. I've seen people come together in the hardest of times to move mountains. Helping a pilot stay airborne is so small compared to that," Bella said with a wide smile.

Danny blushed a bit and looked down, seemingly finding his shoes very interesting. He seemed to gather himself after a small while to say something, but Bella had a hard time hearing it, as Danny mumbled it. He was afraid he was going to be turned down by this gorgeous woman. It's not like he had any real trouble getting a date for an evening, but he truly wanted to be with this girl in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you say it again, please?" Bella asked politely.

Danny took a deep breath and looked up at her. Swallowing hard, he repeated himself. It was still hard to make out, with it being slightly louder than necessary in volume and having all of the words mashed together, but Bella understood him after thinking on it for a moment.

"WOULDYOULIKETOGOOUTTODINNERWITHME?" he rushed out all in one breath.

After deciphering his meaning, Bella's smile widened as she beamed at him. "I would love to. Maybe if your friend can convince Evelyn to accompany him, we can make it a double date," she suggested.

Danny smiled in relief that she had said yes, and happiness that she thought to include his best friend and brother in all but blood. Great, so I'll pick you up Friday night? Say around 5:30?"

Bella nodded and wrote the address they were staying at on base, before handing it to him. "I can't wait."

Danny took the paper from her, their fingers lightly brushing the other's. In that moment, Bella didn't feel an electric shock or fire race through her. It was a slow steady warmth. Like coming in to stand next to a fire in the middle of a blizzard.

"See you then," he said as he turned and he and Rafe left to finish their exam.

Not long after that, Bella was rotated again to give vaccinations as well. It seemed that every soldier had put off getting their shots to the last minute, and Bella gave a chuckle at the childishness of it all. It was then she saw Rafe again, taking the chart from an enlisted man. She didn't pay attention. Evelyn's business was Evelyn's business. She turned her attention to the soldier that was right in front of her and proceeded to stab him none too gently in the posterior with an inoculation. She was getting tired of all of these soldiers flirting with her. Because there was no better time to flirt with a nurse than when you're giving her a full moon.

Just as her latest patient left she heard a tray crash to the floor, followed by the unmistakable thud of a body falling. Bella ran around her partition to see what the commotion was and saw Rafe on the floor, holding his nose and groaning in pain. Martha came around the opposite partition and couldn't hold back the remark she too wanted to blurt out.

"Oh! What'd you do to him?" she asked. It took everything Bella had not to laugh at the absurdity of it all. A couple of orderlies managed to haul Rafe to his feet, the poor guy looked drugged out of his gourd, and take him to see a doctor.

That final scene with Rafe and Evelyn held Bella for the rest of the day. Every time she thought about it, she couldn't help but to chuckle. It got a bit uncomfortable a few times when she chuckled just as some enlisted man dropped his skivvies. Bella blushed whenever that happened, gave a small apology, and then sent them on their way with a sore butt. When the day finally ended, all of the nurses left together.

Bella, Evelyn, and the girls were all giggling about the surreal day they all had with all of the girls ending up with dates for the weekend. Bella figured that guys nowadays weren't so shy as not not ask a girl out with their underwear around their knees.

"Hey!" They all heard. Evelyn and Bella stopped, seeing Rafe rush up to them with a bandage around his nose. Bella smiled and started back down the steps to catch up with the other girls.

"Do you want me to stay so you have someone to walk back with? I could make myself busy on the bench under the tree he just came from," Bella asked her friend. Evelyn nodded.

"If you wouldn't mind. This shouldn't take long." Bella nodded and walked in the direction of the bench, while Rafe ran up to Evelyn, sparing a small smile to Bella, who returned it.

Bella found watching Evelyn and Rafe converse, even if she couldn't hear what they were saying. Bella thought he had a boyish charm as he pulled out a bottle of wine or champagne, and Evelyn giving in to the libation. She felt bad, but chuckled as she watched Rafe uncork the bottle only for the cork to hit him right in the nose. He tried manfully to pour the liquid as he fought through the pain of his nose, but eventually he gave in. Evelyn gave a small laugh before laying his head back in her lap, and held a chunk of ice from the ground up to his nose. Bella turned away once she saw them kissing. That was a private moment, and she didn't want to intrude.

Bella sat and thought if Danny was at all like his friend. They would need something to unite them as friends, and a sense of playfulness would certainly help with that. Bella tried to recall what Daniel in the 21st century was like. He was playful underneath his sadness, but she got the sense that before she entered his life, that he hadn't smiled genuinely for quite some time.

Bella felt bad about looking forward to her date with the young pilot. She didn't want to stop him from meeting the woman that he would fall in love with. But having tasted love before, she wanted to at least try again. She understood now that heartbreak was a part of falling in love. It was hard and painful to fight through, but falling in love was worth all of the heartbreak and more. She promised that if Danny had felt that he had a connection with another woman, she would let him go. But she would enjoy what time she had with him. Even if she ended up with a broken heart.

Bella's musings were interrupted when Rafe walked up with Evelyn on his arm. Bella smiled at the two of them, and stood to walk with Evelyn back to their lodgings.

"Ma'am," Rafe said to Bella politely, bowing his head slightly in her direction. Bella though, no matter how old she got, would never allow someone to call her ma'am if she could help it.

"Bella. You can call me Bella," she told him. Rafe smiled.

"Bella. It is my understanding from Danny that you two have a date this weekend. He said you had thought to make it a double date if I worked up the courage to ask Evelyn out."

Evelyn gave Bella a questioning look, and Bella blushed that Rafe had said that aloud.

"Yes. I figured that a group outing with friends would make things a bit more relaxed for those of us who have problems keeping a conversation going. We don't have to do it, if it would make you uncomfortable. Or we could start the night together and then break off later if we get comfortable enough around each other. Or- or-" Bella rambled. Rafe gave a chuckle and held his hand up to stop her.

"Ok. Ok. I understand. I think it is a great idea. As for how the night ends, we'll play it by ear. Now, it is getting late, and there is no reason two beautiful young women should be walking alone this time of night. If you would allow, I would be honored to walk you both back to your rooms," he said amiably. Bella blushed at how she had rambled on, and just nodded.

Rafe smiled and held his other arm out to her, which she took with as much grace and dignity as she could with all of the embarrassment she felt, and they began walking back. Conversation was light and easy thanks to Rafe's natural charm, and when they got to their door, Bella thanked him for his escort and went inside so he and Evelyn could say their good night's on their own. She couldn't help the smile that was still plastered on her face as she and the other girls went through their nightly ablutions. Betty even commented at how much she was smiling, and said that she was happy that Bella had finally found something to be excited about.

Bella was so nervous when friday finally rolled around. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation from all of the girls as they got ready for their dates. Bella had managed to find a navy blue dress with a lacy top around the swooped neckline and it extended to three quarter sleeves. She kept her makeup to a minimum, never favoring it, but she did use a bit of mascara to highlight her eyes and rouge for her cheeks, even if she was bound to blush a lot in the course of the evening. And a nude, as far as nude was in the 1940's, shade of lipstick.

At about 5:30, as promised, Danny and Rafe had come to pick up both her and Evelyn. Rafe had given Evelyn a white rose and Danny handed Bella a strange looking flower with spiked outer edges to the petals and spots of bright purple splashed over them, as if the fairy that painted it had spilled their paint bucket. Bella smiled at Danny and took the flower with a raised eyebrow. Knowing her question he answered.

"Gillyflower," he said with a blush. "It looks like a flower that decided to have fun with painting."

Bella chuckled. "I had a thought quite similar. I thought it looked like a fairy had spilled their paint all over it."

Danny gave a chuckle of his own and quietly offered his arm to her. He and Rafe led her and Evelyn away, and Evelyn was curious as to their plans.

"So, Mr. McCawley, what do you two have planned for us tonight?" she asked.

"Well, ma'am, Danny and I figured dinner first wouldn't go amiss, and then we'll see where the night takes us," he replied.

Bella smiled. "I like it. Simple and fluid." Rafe smiled at her and proceeded to steer the conversation, though Bella could tell that Danny was listening.

"So, where are the two of you from?" Rafe asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I was born in England, but when I was a toddler, around the age of two, my father moved the family to California, hoping to make a profit off of those who were still striking veins of gold. People always need to eat. The restaurant went under in the depression however. I joined the Navy Nurses hoping to find a job that paid enough to help them out," Evelyn said. Bella didn't know that, although she supposed that explained the idiolect she carried. Every once in a while, Bella would catch how she pronounced certain words, even slipping a "bloody" in the occasional sentence. She may not have been raising in England, but her parent's influences was strong.

"And you, Bella? Where are you from?" Danny asked softly.

"Nothing so exotic as England," she blushed. "I was born in a small town in Washington. My parent's moved us around a lot after the crash as dad found the odd farming job. He was killed in a tractor accident, two years ago. Mom died mere months later from a broken heart. They were each other's soul mates, they said. I believe that. I was an only child, with no family, so I joined out of necessity. I needed food and work. I didn't expect to find the same sense of family with the girls, but I'm certainly glad I did," Bella explained. Danny placed a hand gently over hers.

"I'm sorry for your loss." he said, and Rafe seconded his sentiment. Bella shook her head.

"Thank you. I miss them, but I don't let their loss over power me as it did when they first passed. What about the two of you. Your accents are very similar. You two have to be from a southern state," she said, changing the subject. Rafe and Danny smiled as they began to regale the girls of their lives growing up together in Tennessee. Bella caught Evelyn looking at her with sad eyes, but Bella gave her a wink, letting her know that she was fine with the outcome of the conversation.

The boys had taken them to a quaint little outdoor dining place that had a band playing softly and a small dance floor, that while there were dancers on it, it looked as though it was only a handful of couples. Both of the men held the chairs out for them before taking their seats and they all ordered after taking a moment to look at the menus.

Both of the boys ordered red meat, no surprise there since the military has them doing PT every other morning, with sides of vegetables. They needed the protein and energy. Evelyn kept it light and ordered grilled chicken and a salad. Bella looked at the menu and decided that her 21st century upbringing needed a release. She ordered a cheeseburger with french fries and a coke. Both boys and Evelyn just looked at her and she blushed at the attention.

"I'm hungry," she muttered as she looked down and blushed in embarrassment. Rafe let out a loud laugh.

"I bet you, you couldn't even finish everything on your plate," he challenged. Bella smirked, knowing that sizes in the 2000's were much bigger than they were in the 1940s.

"And what are the stakes, should I take your challenge?" she asked in a moment of boldness. It felt as if she was talking to Jake again. But he was more natural about it.

Rafe thought for a moment. "A kiss from a pretty lady," he said, pointing to his cheek. Bella raised an eyebrow, but took comfort in the fact he didn't specify which lady nor who she would kiss.

"Deal," she said. She turned to Danny and, at seeing his look of apprehension, smiled at him, giving a small shake of her head, letting him know that she had this.

And she did. She easily finished the burger, the fries, the small side of cole slaw, and the soda. Again, everyone looked at her in amazement.

"I told you I was hungry. However, I suppose I will still honor the terms, even if I won," she said, and turned to Danny, on whose cheek she placed a chaste kiss.

"You have one mighty appetite on you, Bella," Rafe finally said. "You don't happen to have a hole in your leg, do you?"

Bella shook her head. "Nope, just a high metabolism."

"I'll say," he muttered before turning to Evelyn. Care for a dance?" he asked her. Evelyn nodded, taking his offered hand and followed him to the dance floor.

"Well, I was going to ask you to dance as well, but he seems to have beaten me to the punch," Danny says softly. Bella shook her head.

"It's a good thing, trust me. I would have just crushed your poor toes."

"That bad, huh?"

"It doesn't help that I am naturally clumsy. I always find something to trip over, even on the clearest and flattest of ground," she explained.

"So if not dancing, what do you do for fun?" he asked.

"I am an avid reader. And depending on how I feel and the weather, I just like to walk and quietly think on things. Recently, it's been about the major changes in my life. What about you?"

"I like to read as well, but for my quiet meditation like time, I fly, Rafe and I have always had to bug. Managing to get my dad's plane to lift off the ground for two seconds when we were horsing around in it when we were 8 or so didn't help that at all," he said with a small smile of remembrance.

"What a tick. You managed to get your father's plane to take off...ON YOUR OWN?!" Bella asked incredulously. Danny laughed and nodded.

"Got my hide tanned nicely for it too. Though Rafe managed to stop the worst of the beating." Bella froze for a heartbeat, but decided if this Danny wanted to tell her about his father, she would listen, but for now, she wouldn't press.

"Would you like to go for a walk then? There's a park nearby we can go to," he suggested. Bella nodded and got her sweater as Danny told Rafe and Evelyn they were headed out.

The rest of the night was flowed surprisingly smoothly for Bella. She was happy that she was finally able to have a normal dating experience without the interrogation she had from Edward or the pushy puppy love she got from Jake. Danny started to steer them back to Bella's place when they saw the time was getting on towards 9. Once they got to her door, Bella turned towards Danny.

"Thank you. Tonight was amazing," she beamed at him.

"So you wouldn't be opposed to repeating the experience?" Danny asked with a smile, but slightly apprehensive.

"Not at all. You really do know how to show a girl a good time."

Danny chuckled. "It was your idea for the double date. It was really clever to keep things so they didn't get awkward."

"Maybe, but you and Rafe chose where to take us. You two planned then night, and it was wonderful," she said.

Danny took a half a step closer, and slowly, so she had enough time to pull away, lowered his lips to hers in a warm gentle kiss.

"Then I will see you again, Bella," he said in a whisper, so he didn't break the intimacy of the moment.

"I look forward to it, Danny."


	3. Posting at Pearl Harbor

_**A/N 9/4/2018: Oh yeah, so much happier with the flow of this story now. I can put in important elements of the history even if there were a few things historically inaccurate about them. Took forever to research who was who in FDR's presidential cabinet, but after consulting my dad, who is retired Navy, I got the right people the right names. Much love! ~Angel**_

The next four weeks flew by quite quickly, with Danny and Rafe taking the girls out every other night. Sometimes in a group, sometimes as just the couples individually. And Bella found herself falling quickly and rather hard for the soft spoken pilot. In Rafe, she found an elder brother who just loved to tease her. He never let it get too far though. With a ghost of a pang of heartbreak, she realized he was the perfect mix of Jasper and Emmett. About 2 weeks after they started seeing each other regularly, Rafe brought up the fact that Danny was more like a brother. That much was obvious to anyone who spent longer than a few moments in their company, but the conversation had led into close friends that everyone had growing up.

Evelyn spoke about her brother and sister, by blood, and how they were quite close. They were still young enough to need to attend school, although her brother took the harvest off to help her father with whatever they were able to grow in the eroding soil. Then they all turned with Bella with expectant looks on their faces. Bella sighed, before deciding to go with a highly edited version of Jake from 2005.

"I had a friend, once. Jacob. He was the son of my father's best friend, and the next in line to become chief of his tribe on the nearby reservation. We had grown up together, making mud pies, while our dads went fishing. Before I joined the Navy Nurses, we got into a huge fight that ended our friendship. We had been having issues before because he didn't agree with the people I kept company with, but it came to a head that day. The things he said...while I joined the Navy because I mostly needed food and a job, what he said was the deciding factor. I had nothing left there. He broke my heart worse than the death of my parents," she explained, finishing with her head down. Danny gently wrapped one arm around her and gathered her to his chest.

"This is going to sound bad, Bell, but I'm glad he did. I am selfish enough to admit that his loss is most certainly our gain," Danny said lowly as Bella composed herself. She looked up at him and offered a small smile in thanks before he placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

Trying to lighten the mood, Rafe added his two cents. "We won't have to worry about him trying to track you down to apologize, do we? I'd pay good money to see Danny in a fight. Little bastard is wirey."

Evelyn jabbed him hard in the ribs for his language but was smiling anyway. Bella shook her head.

"No. No, he won't be finding me any time soon. Those bridges are well and truly charcoal by now."

"Well, just know that I would put up one hell of a fight if I needed to," Danny said. Bella's heart melted even more. Then she came to a decision. She would fight as well. She didn't care if another woman came into the picture. She would fight as much as she was able.

The final week that they were stationed at Ft. Detrick, they got their orders for Pearl Harbor, and Rafe and Danny had put the idea towards the girls of everyone spending the last night in New York city taking in the night life. Well, it wasn't like the girls were going to pass that up, Bella thought. And that was how she and the other nurses found themselves on a train from Ft. Detrick, Maryland to New York. There was a lot of giggling and gossiping going on, and Bella had never thought that she would have so much fun participating in such a thing. She figured gossip was much more...well, just more in 1940.

"If the call of duty means seeing 150 men in their underwear everyday, we are here to serve," Barbara said. Betty giggle as she held a bottle of coke. Bella had to give the 40's one thing. Glass bottles for soda and real sugar!

"I can't believe it! Saturday night in New York City. Do you know what they're doing where I come from?" she asked Evelyn. Ev shook her head in the negative.

"Nothing. Cow tipping." Everyone giggled at the deadpan delivery, and the fact that that was possibly what they were truly doing made a sad statement about the town where Betty was from.

"Well, that's why you joined the Navy, hon'.To get out of that dusty little town and see the world," Barbara encouraged. Sandra though just had to correct her.

"May I remind you, Barbara, we're Navy nurses, not tourist," she said.

"I joined to do my patriotic duty. And...to meet guys," Martha said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Me too," Betty said with a blush as she tried to hide it by taking a drink of her soda.

"Girls, we're gonna have so much fun tonight in the city," Evelyn said with a familiar gleam in her eye.

"You've gotta tell them the story, Evelyn," Barbara pipped up. Evelyn smirked at Bella. "Or if you won't, I'll pester Bella, she was there too." Bella's eyes got bit as she shook her head nervously.

"What?" Betty asked, seeing the three way exchange. "Oh, come on. Tell us." Bella wondered why she was enamored with the story as much as she was. She knew about how she and Danny met. Bella told Betty everything, having grown as close to her as a sister.

"Oh, it's such a long story," Evelyn teased. Martha wasn't for letting her go though.

"We got time."

"I saw it happen," Barbara pipped in before Evelyn started.

"Well, it was about four weeks ago..." she said as she launched into the story of how she and Rafe met. Bella took over in the in between, since Betty wanted her to let them know about Danny as well. Though hearing what Evelyn had said in the conversation with Rafe when he had injured his nose with the cork had her chuckle at the scene once again, finding it incredibly adorable.

"Oh, Evelyn," Martha swooned.

"That's the most romantic story I ever heard," Sandra said with a dreamy voice.

"It's been the most romantic 4 weeks and 2 days of my life," Evelyn said with a smile, and Bella merely hummed in agreement.

"I'm so jealous," Betty whispered as the train pulled into the station. Bella and Evelyn were out of their seats almost as soon as it stopped, anxious to see their men again. Even if it had only been two days since they last saw them.

The girls could see Danny and Rafe waiting for them. The steam from the engines of the trains causing a very romantic 1940's style movie setting. Both of the men removed their hats in the presence of the girls. Evelyn and Rafe both greeting each other playfully by their ranks. Danny though, took a different route. He didn't say anything, just pulled Bella to him and placed a kiss lovingly on her forehead before drawing her into a tight embrace, where she sighed at the feeling of finally being at peace. They pulled apart as Evelyn introduced him to their friends.

"I want you to meet my friends. Rafe, this is Martha, Barbara, Sandra-" she didn't get to finish though because Betty jumped in with her bubbly personality. Bella only smiled and shook her head at her friend's exuberance.

"Hi. I'm Betty," she introduced herself, taking Rafe's hand.

"Hi," he said politely back.

"Would you happen to have any friends?" she asked in a business like tone. Rafe chuckled and looked to a group of soldiers behind him and Danny.

"Take your pick," he said, and some of the men waived nervously at the girls while others merely stared as if they hadn't seen so many girls in one spot before.

"Hi," Betty said with a wide smile.

Every soldier paired up with a nurse and they all made their way to a club that had lively swing music playing. That was as far as they made it as a group however, as everyone eventually gravitated either to the dance floor, the bar, or a very large round table for all of them to rest for drinks once the dancing was done.

Bella took the time to observe everyone as their mingled. Smiling softly as Betty spoke to Red, who was so nervous, his stuttering made him almost unintelligible, winced at the way Anthony tried and failed to flirt with Sandra, and outright cringed when Billy placed a strange substance under his eyes, and started talking to Barbara. His eyes, swelling and he began crying until she was all over him like an octopus.

Danny tried to smile and have a good time with the others, but knowing that Rafe was going off to the war the next morning was sapping all of the happiness out of him. Bella saw that he was sullen once she turned her attention back to the table and wanted to bring him out of it.

"Are you alright?" she asked gently. She wouldn't push if he didn't want to speak, but she was hoping he would so she could possibly help.

Danny shook his head, before taking her hand and standing up. The festive air was only making his mood worse, so he led Bella back outside and they wandered the streets for a while before Danny spoke.

"Rafe was assigned to a post in England," he tells her. Bella looked at him in incomprehension.

"That's not possible," she muttered.

"It is, apparently, and he has been." Bella shook her head before explaining her thoughts.

"Danny, America is doing everything it can to stay out of the war. I have absolutely no doubt that we will be in it before long, but the Army is not just assigning pilots to help England. They are only sending those that request a posting there. Trust me, our military is doing everything it can at the moment to fortify ourselves for when we do. The Selective Service Act, placing the entire Pacific Fleet at Pearl, America needs what good pilots she has here, she won't just send them."

Danny looked at her, and then she could feel him getting angry. "Why would he tell me that he had been assigned?" he raged.

Bella sighed, leading him to walk again, hoping the motion would be a small outlet for his anger, before she spoke. "Danny, you and Rafe have been brothers in every way but blood since you were very young. He views you as a younger brother. And though I haven't known her as long as you two have known each other, I view Betty the same way, as a younger sister. Danny, there isn't a thing I wouldn't do for that girl, and though we may get into trouble together, no matter what, my first thought when things get hairy, is to make sure that she is safe. It is the elder sibling's duty to make sure their younger siblings are safe. Both physically and emotionally. Rafe, I suspect, knew that you wouldn't agree with his decision, but would want to go with him to make sure he was okay. But he wanted to make sure that his brother, his wing man was safe."

Danny's anger had abated to pure sorrow by the time Bella finished. "But what made him think he could make that decision for me?"

"I can't tell you that, having once had a major decision taken from me as well. Although now, I see the good of it. Like I said, he just wants you safe, even if the way he is going about it is wrong," Bella said.

Danny stopped and placed a palm to her cheek. "You are perfect, you know?"

Bella shook her head, "Far from it, but I'm glad you think I'm good enough to keep around," she joked.

Danny chuckled, then brought her head up to his so he could place a gentle but deep and passionate kiss on her lips. Kissing Danny was a lot different than kissing Edward. Edward, had been cold, restrained, and unyeilding, where Danny's were warm, and his lips molded perfectly against hers as they moved in harmony. Bella moved a hand up to the back of his neck to hold him in place just a few moments longer before propriety saw them breaking apart. Danny smiled at her lovingly, before taking her hand in the crook of his elbow and he led them back to the hotel everyone else was staying at.

"Would you stay with me tonight?" he asked. "Not to do anything, I promise. It's just, I don't think I could sleep very well tonight, knowing Rafe was leaving in the morning," he rushed out in an effort to quell any feelings of scandal she might have. Bella mentally laughed though, knowing how improper things get in just 20 years time.

"I'll stay. Are you taking Rafe to the station tomorrow? Would you like me to come with you?" she asked. Danny nodded before he led her up to her room.

A quick call down to the concierge saw them bring up a pair of men's sleep wear, and they both prepared themselves for bed. Danny changed and immediately got into bed, but Bella took a bath, so she could wash the day of travel and two tons of hairspray Betty put in her hair out. Toweling her hair, she walked into the main room to see Danny sitting up in the bed with his head in his hands. Bella put the towel on the back of a chair to dry before she walked over to the bed and got in beside him. Gently, she began running her fingers soothingly through his hair. Danny dropped his hands, and Bella could see that he had been crying a bit.

"I'm sorry to impose on you," he said hoarsely. Bella shushed him quietly and guided him to lie down with his head in her lap. Danny closed his eyes and reveled in the feel of her fingers carding through his short hair, calming his frayed nerves. It wasn't long before he was truly relaxing, and Bella began to hum a lullaby under her breath. Not the one Edward wrote to her, but one she used to hear from her grandmother. An old Irish tune that would lull her to sleep. Within moments. Danny was out.

Shifting his head to a pillow, she turned out the lights and pulled the covers over both of them, snuggling into his side.

The concierge called much sooner than either of them would have liked for their morning wakeup call. Bella because she was enjoying the intimate moment with Danny, but more importantly, because Danny would have to say good bye for a time to his best friend and brother. It didn't take long for either of them to get ready, Bella, even in this era not liking more than what was considered decent, before they met Rafe in the lobby. Bella looked around for Evelyn but couldn't see her friend anywhere. She didn't believe that she would miss seeing Rafe off for anything.

"I told her I didn't want her to see me off. It would just be too painful for the both of us," Rafe explained. Bella could understand that a bit, she supposed.

They made it to the station going on 7 am, Danny carrying Rafe's bag, with Bella on Rafe's arm as he looked around the station entrance.

"I thought you said you told her not to come," Danny said.

"Yeah, I did," he replied, but he still continued to look.

"Why you looking for her then?"

"It's my test." Bella looked at Rafe in puzzlement. "If I tell her not to come, and she comes anyway, then I- I know she loves me," he explained. Bella shook her head in bemusement then.

"And y'all say women are confusing," Bella said, the idiolect she picked up from Danny poking through.

"All aboard! Track 57!" yelled a conductor.

The three friends stopped, Danny dropping Rafe's bag gently to the ground and Rafe donning his hat as Bella's eye filled with tears. When Danny in the future had told her the stories of his time in the war, there was 60 years and the fact she didn't truly know the people separating her from the events. Now they weren't just names, or elderly people she had just met. These were her friends, good friends, going off to fight Nazis. It was made worse by the fact that she knew what was going to happen. Bella, though, did everything in her power not to think about what was going to happen. She knew she was setting herself up for heartbreak, but she honestly, just didn't want to think about it.

"If, uh, anything happens to me, I want you to be the one to tell her, all right?" Rafe asked Danny.

"That's too cruel, Rafe. Don't think about that, you're going to come home just fine!" Bella said with conviction, with tears now flowing freely down her face.

Danny didn't answer him though. "You just make sure you come back for all of us, all right." Danny demanded before Rafe gave a small smile and pulled him into a manly hug, completely with a couple of back pats.

Rafe then turned to Bella, and gently wiped away her tears. "Hey, it's going to be all right. I'll come back and take my little sister out for ice cream. You take care of him for me though, ok?" he asks her.

Bella nodded and threw her arms around Rafe, hugging him to her tightly. "You come back, you hear. None of us could take it if you died without permission, and I certainly refuse to give it."

"I'll do my damnedest," he says, kissing her temple in brotherly affection before letting her go and picking up his bag. Bella went to Danny's side and took his hand in a near death grip as they watching Rafe board the train.

"See y'all when I get back," he threw over his shoulder.

"Good huntin', Rafe," Danny said with a lump in his throat. Bella's tears redoubled as they watched Evelyn run by as fast as she could to find Rafe as his train pulled out.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Rafe had made it to England, being dropped off in front of a structure with gothic, he thought he once heard Danny describe the style, architecture. He felt a sense of anticipation, seeing planes return from a dogfight over the channel, or other pilots checking their planes for damages from .50 cal rounds. He took his bags and walked up to a man in uniform who had a Colonel's rank, and dropped his bags once again to give a salute.

"Lieutenant McCawley reporting for duty, sir." The man turned and returned the salute in the English manner.

"Good," he said leading Rafe away from the plane he had been inspecting. "We'll get you settled into your quarters. And then introduce you to the crate you'll be flying,"

"If y'all are patching up bullet holes here, maybe we ought to skip housekeeping, and get me right in an aeroplane," Rafe saying the first thought that came to mind.

"Two didn't come back, sir," yelled another pilot. "We counted only 11." The squadron leader sighed in apparent defeat before turning to Rafe.

"Are all yanks as anxious as you to get themselves killed, pilot officer?" he asked.

"Not anxious to die, sir. Just anxious to matter," Rafe replied. The squadron leader then led him to a plane riddled with bullet holes. The cockpit window blown out with .50 cal rounds and blood all over the inside.

"This is yours," he said. "Good chap. Didn't die till he'd landed and shut down his engine." Rafe climbed the ladder up so he could see better, and took a deep breath at seeing the carnage the Luftwaffe was able to wreak on their fellow man.

~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~

At the White House, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had called a meeting.

"Please, be seated, gentleman," he said as he was wheeled up to the table. His cabinet all sat and they turned their attention to him as he continued to speak.

"I'm afraid, I'm in a bad mood. Churchill and Stalin are asking me what I'm asking you. How long is America going to pretend the world is not at war?"

It was the Secretary of the Navy that spoke up. "We've increased food and oil shipments, Mr. President, and as far as I know- "

"What they really need are tanks, planes, bullets, bombs, and men to fight," the President interrupted. "But our people think Hitler and his Nazi thugs are Europe's problem. We have to do more. Send the Brits and Russians more of our ships and Anti-aircraft weapons.

"And keep cannibalizing the Pacific Fleet?" Admiral Nimitz spoke up.

"What choice do we have? We're building refrigerators, while our enemies build bombs.

~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~

In Japan, another meeting of more dire consequences was taking place.

"War is inevitable. To hide this fact, is death," spoke Admiral Yamamoto of the Imperial Navy. "The Americans cut off the oil that is our lifeline...We have only enough for eighteen months, we have no choice but war. There is only one way. A massive, sudden strike."

"You see us capable of such a blow?" Nishikura asked him. Admiral Yamamoto looked to the little one's flying kites on the hill above them, then looked back down at the assembled.

"We will annihilate their Pacific Fleet in a single attack...at Pearl Harbor!" he said with such strong conviction. He must do this for his people, his country, his Emperor.

~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~

They had made it. The transport ferry had finally docked and all of the nurses got their first glimpse that was the wonder of the Pacific Fleet.

"This is so exciting," said Evelyn as she looked so sophisticated in her white dress with a hat pulled low to keep the sun out of her eyes.

"You know that there's about 100 ships on Pearl," Sandra said as Bella heard sailors wolf whistle and yell in an attempt to gain their attention.

"And how many sailors per ship?" asked Betty.

"It depends. More on a Battleship than a sub. But say, on average….2,000?" Sandra tells her.

"Then there's the flyers, the Marine's, base personnel," listed Barbara.

"I'm still working on the sailors," Betty said. Bella giggled.

"Girls, I think the odds are in your favor," she said.

"Yeah, like 4,000 to one," Martha pipped up.

"It's paradise," gushed Betty, as she put her palm tree sunglasses on and jumped up to wave at the sailors.

Barbara waved with her and yelled, "See you on the beach, boys!" She then turned to the others. "We're in Hawaii."

~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, further inland, Danny, Red, Anthony, and Billy were walking up to the main hanger to see a man fiddling with a surf board and another reading a book. The Sergent listening to them explain how they will avoid rock next time they took the board out.

"Hi," Danny spoke up as the man with the hat that read Earl on the folded up bill saluted them.

"Aloha."

"Y'all pilots?" Danny asked. He was not encouraged by the answer. But after the man in the hula shirt and a beat up face smiled, he relaxed.

"We're working on it. It's a lot of switches and stuff," then he smiled. "Pride of the Pacific."

"Who are you?" asked Earl.

Danny smiled. "Terrors of the skies."


	4. A Call to Action

_**A/N 9/6/2018:**_ **Okie Dokie guys, I wrote this after ANOTHER!, rather shitty day. Although it didn't have the expensive consequences of blowing a tire, it did rather ruin the plans of attending the local pagan gathering I wanted to go to with my ma. A saw at work broke down and they called a mandatory Saturday, even though I said in front of 3 of my bosses I needed it off for a religious shindig...Because I was polite! And waited until they were done speaking to each other, I apparently lost the shot of having it off...so much for manners. Anyway, I hope y'all are having better days, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Much love... ~Angel**

That first week while stationed at Pearl Harbor went by quickly for Bella and the other nurses. It was mostly helping out around the hospital and getting a feel for where things were. It was the same for Danny, only it was slightly easier for him, as he did most of his exercises in the air. At the end of the end of the first week they were all there, everyone decided to take their first true outing to the beach, and have a bit of a sunset party. It held the same beauty to Bella as a sunset on La Push beach. Danny noticed her preoccupation as she stared into the driftwood fire as everyone else spoke around them.

"What's on your mind, Bell?" he asked softly, as she leaned back into his chest.

"I was just thinking of the fires an old friend and I used to attend at the local beach when my family stayed in the Pacific Northwest. The feeling is the same, but the scenery, while equally beautiful, holds a warmth that is missing from the northern Pacific," she told him. She chuckled.

"Now instead of watching for whales, we have to watch for sharks." Danny chuckled at her addendum.

"Rafe and I were completely landlocked in Tennessee. Neither of us saw the ocean. Now he has crossed the Atlantic, and I'm in paradise in the middle of the Pacific." Bella hummed happily in his arms.

The rest of the pilots had struck up a game of football before the light could completely fade. The wind was gaining strength, and they could all fell a storm blowing in, but that didn't stop everyone from enjoying the outdoors as they could. Bella laughed at the antics of the other pilots as they tackled and wrestled with each other, trying to get the ball. Bella couldn't help but laugh extremely hard. That was, until she heard the shutter of the camera that Betty had brought with her. Bella looked over to see Betty lowering the camera from Bella's direction.

Bella gave Betty a look that said she wasn't amused, though Betty simply returned with a look full of mischief. She didn't like having her picture taken, no matter if it was the past or the future, she always felt like a cow compared to the other girls. She knew it wasn't logical, but everyone had their hangups, she supposed. They all stayed at the beach for a while after sunset. Well, all but Evelyn. Evelyn had made it a routine to write to Rafe practically every day. Bella would sometimes sneak in a letter with Evelyn's to let him know what was going on, but she mostly just told Evelyn to give Rafe her good thoughts.

As Red and the boys were gathering blankets and things for the girls, Danny was content to stay where he was, with Bella in his arms, and so he did for a long while after everyone had left. He waved the boys off as they offered to take him and Bella home, but he just wanted this time with his girl. He was awash in so many emotions for the beautiful creature here with him. And he truly meant beautiful. Both physically attractive with dark mahogany hair, hazel eyes that on first pass look chocolate, but with a ring of dark forest green around the outside edge that bled into brown in the center, and full soft pink lips. He couldn't get enough of kissing her, just to feel and taste those lips.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered into her ear. He said it so softly, Bella wasn't all that sure she heard correctly at first. She turned to see his face in the light of the fire, and saw the same emotion written all over his countenance.

"I love you," she responded. "Danny, I-" But she never got to finish her thought because he surged forward and captured her lips in a gentle and needy kiss. Danny lowered her slowly onto the blanket they shared and asked her with his eyes if he had gone too far. Bella smiled up at him before kissing him once more, inviting his tongue into her mouth and savoring his taste. She gave a small moan as she tasted the divine mix of chocolate and coffee. She never thought that the two tastes, combined with a taste she could only assign to Danny, could have ever been this tempting, but it drove her absolutely wild.

Soon, before either of their brains caught up to their actions, they were both divesting the other of their clothes. Bella wasn't worried about being caught. They were well enough hidden amongst the dunes so they didn't have to worry about the tide earlier in the evening, No, now she worried that Danny would stop. And she most certainly didn't want that. Their heavy breaths mixed and heated the air between them as Danny began kissing her neck as Bella moaned at the sheer pleasure he was giving her at his touch alone. It was a trick to get her out of her stockings and to pull up her slip. She envied the simplicity of men's fashions for a moment.

Danny pulled back one final time before they joined, wanting to make absolutely sure this was what she wanted. And boy, did he hope that she wanted this. This siren had been haunting his every thought for the last two and a half months. One things he was thankful for, they didn't seem to need words to communicate because he saw the truth in her eyes. He kissed her as he took his hard cock in hand, and coated himself in her juices before he slowly and fluidly eased himself into her.

It was heaven for the both of them, and they sighed together in happiness at being joined. Danny reveling in the way she hugged him tightly, and Bella marveling how he filled her, feeling every rigid inch of him as he entered her. She was then thankful for the drunken frat party Jess dragged her to two weeks after the Cullen's left. It was a night filled with everything Edward would have hated. Smoking both cigarettes and pot, drinking, and a one night stand with a complete stranger. She was thankful for it now, because it was a completely human right of passage, and it took all of the hurt and awkwardness out of her first time with Danny.

Danny, after entering her, had held still so they both could become accustomed to the other. He certainly knew he had to find a way to maintain his composure and not just take what he wanted from her. He wanted this to be a night she wouldn't forget as well. But soon enough he began to move, and at the first pull and push back in, both of them moaned once more in primal pleasure. Danny continued the movement, pulling nearly all the way out before pushing back in. It was driving Bella mad, the slow pace he had set, and she started thrusting her hips up in time with his in need for more.

"Danny," she said with a whimper. "Danny, please. Please go faster. I promise not to break."

Danny gave in to her pleas and started to quicken his pace, rolling his hips a bit so his pelvic bone rubbed against her clit. The extra sensation caused Bella to cry out to the stars above, and she clung to his back hard enough to leave nail tracks that would take days maybe even weeks to heal. His breathing picked up as he felt heat begin to coarse through his system. But he would wait. Wait until Bella had had her pleasure as well. This wasn't just about him. He took one of her hands that had been fisting the blanket beneath her.

"Ugh. Oh! B-Bella," he ground out. Bella couldn't reply with anything more than a small moan with every thrust into her tight channel. Finally. Finally, he began to feel her walls flutter around him. Danny picked up his intensity, driving back into her just a little harder, taking her at her word that she wouldn't break.

"Oh! Oh! Yes! Yes, Danny! YES! OOOHHHHH!" Bella cried as she clenched around him, spasming in her completion, and pulling Danny's finish from him in a loud moan. They rode out their finishes before Danny collapsed at her side and gathered her in his arms, kissing the top of her head, as she regained her normal breathing pattern.

Oh yes. He loved her. And he promised the universe itself he wouldn't screw it up.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Rafe sat at a table penning a letter to Evelyn when he heard the squadron leader walk up behind him.

"Family?" the RAF pilot asked.

"Girl, sir. The girl," Rafe said, smiling at him like a love struck fool.

The squadron leader thought for a moment before telling Rafe the thoughts running through his head.

"A lot of people frown on the yanks for not being in this war yet. I'd just like to say, if there are many more back home like you, God help anyone who goes to war with America," he commented before taking a small drink of his beer, and patting Rafe's shoulder as he left.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

A bell chimed on the deck of the USS West Virginia as the captain and crew presented themselves to the Commander of the Pacific Fleet.

"Atten-hut! Attention on deck! Admiral Kimmel, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet, on deck," called out the first mate.

Admiral Kimmel and Captain Mervyn Bennion of the USS West Virginia walked the deck between two lines of crew.

"Sharp presentation, Captain," Admiral Kimmel complimented.

"Thank you, Admiral Kimmel," Captain Bennion said with pride.

"For 4 months now, Washington's been blowing pink smoke about the threat from Japan. Could make us lose our fighting edge. I'm determined not to let that happen," Adm. Kimmel said to the Captain before they heard two pairs of feet quickly approaching behind them. It was Kimmel's Aide and the ship's strategic analyst.

"With your permission, Captain," said Kimmel's Aide, saluting his superior, "Admiral, urgent, from Washington,"

Admiral Kimmel was handed a telegraph, which he quickly scanned with a frown that only grew to frustration as he finished. He looked up at Captain Bennion in exasperation.

"I'm supposed to keep this fleet battle-ready to take on the Japanese. Cover half the damn globe. Now they want me to transfer another 12 destroyers to the Atlantic. Don't they know what we're facing out here?!"

"They feel Europe is the greater danger, Admiral," explained the analyst.

"I'm assuming these risk assessments include Hawaii?" asked the Admiral, knowing that they didn't really. Pearl Harbor was chosen for a reason, but there were always ways around the most air tight of plans.

"Well, Pearl Harbor is too shallow for an aerial torpedo attack. We're surrounded by sub nets. All we need to worry about here is sabotage," explained the analyst. "So we've bunched our planes together to make them easier to protect. Distance is our ally, Admiral."

"You analysts got it all figured out, don't you? The smart enemy, hits you exactly where you think you're safe," Admiral Kimmel said, heeding the experience of his years.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

In Japan, surrounding a shallow pool with mock battleships and destroyers in position, schemed Japans most brilliant military minds of the time, including Admiral Yamamoto and Commander Genda. The man they had paid to survey the Harbor produced photographs and rough plans he had made while scouting.

"From a Hawaiian sightseeing plane, I was able to photograph battleship row and the many airbases."

"Look at the ships- all grouped, perfect targets," Commander Genda pointed out, before he showed the Admiral to the torpedoes they were outfitting for the attack.

"We have fixed our torpedoes to allow for Pearl Harbor," he said as three men attached wooden fins to a torpedo.

"Wooden fins- this makes the torpedoes able to travel through the shallow harbor." Commander Genda showed the trajectory the modified torpedoes would take in the water on a blackboard. The Admiral nodded, impressed with the progress of the plan of attack.

"When Pearl Harbor ia still asleep in the morning mist, we will attack with full force," he said.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The air raid alarm was blaring incoming Luftwaffe as pilots scrambled to their planes.

"I fixed the hydraulics and electrical system, sir, but the oil hoses still need attention," Ian hurriedly told Rafe in his thick Scottish accent.

"Just crank it, Ian!" Rafe said impatiently as he climbed into the cockpit of his crate.

"God speed to you, sir," Ian said in a prayer that just one pilot would make it back from this sudden suicide mission.

They managed to get into the air readily enough but it wasn't long before they spotted the Zero's the Luftwaffe were flying.

"Red section, take the bombers. Blue section, look out for the fighters," ordered the squadron leader.

Rafe spotted the thin cloud of Zero's flying towards them at their 12 o'clock.

"Bombers, dead ahead. Let's drop in and give 'em a reception," he said. His accent coming out thicker as the adrenaline began pumping through his veins in preparation for the coming dogfight. The RAF began to split into their formation.

"Red 2, follow my lead, high side. We go right at the lead bomber," Rafe instructed the young man. Poor kid had only been with them for a week at most.

"Following you, Red 1," he replied. They came in from above and below, hammering down on their gun fire in an attempt to down the lead bomber. The monster was huge, and Rafe knew he had to bring it and it's payload down before it had a chance to reach the mainland.

"Good hit, good hit!" he encouraged the kid as Red 2. This was a fight strictly about ingenuity and skill. Rafe's P-40, while not able to outrun, the German Zero, under his hands, was doing a fine job of outmaneuvering the German pilot. But it was still keeping pace on his tail.

"Red 1, coming around, reset for the kill," Rafe ordered into his headset. Somehow, in the process of attempting to lose the Zero on his tail, he had a bomber right in his sights.

"I have the middle bomber. Hammer down!" he said as he strafed the bomber with gunfire. He and the kid managed to get enough hits in to blow the cockpit sky high.

"We got him. Nice shot, Red 2. I got 2 M.E.s dead ahead," Rafe informed the squadron as he flew after them.

"I'm on him. I'm on his tail," he got the fallback plane in his sights. "Hammer down!" he said as he sprayed the M.E. taking out the left wing. "I got one of them!"

In his concentration and zeal to shoot down the other planes, Rafe didn't notice that he had flown so far from his squadron. But that didn't matter as he shot at the second plane, bringing it down to the deck as he pulled up to gain altitude.

"I got another one," Rafe shouted.

"Red 1, you've got fighters all over your tail!" screamed Red 2 as Rafe began taking heavy fire.

"I'm under fire! I'm taking fire!" Rafe yelled as he swiveled his head in attempt to locate the German ass hat that was shooting at him.

"Red 1, get out of there. Pull up! Pull up!" the squadron leader advised. Rafe could feel that he was pushing his plane beyond it's limits. A fact that became abundantly clear when an oil hose broke in the panel at his knees.

"I got an oil leak! AH!" he screamed as the oil caught fire. "Can't see a damn thing!" He tried to simultaneously put out the fire and wipe the oil from the windows. He had to get out of there. But when he tried the latch, it stayed put.

"I can't bail! My canopy's stuck! I can't bail out!" Rafe was really starting to panic now, as he tried to maintain control of the plane, fight a fire, plug an oil lead, and he didn't have the ability to bail out. In an attempt to relieve some of the pressure in the cockpit, he shot the windows to weaken them and punched them out. But the hole wasn't much bigger than his fist, let alone a full grown man.

"He's on my tail, Red 2," Rafe said, coming under fire again. The German got a lucky shot off and blew the engine.

"I'm hit! I'm hit! Mayday! Mayday!" he yelled as his plane began to spin out of control, towards the water.

"Oh, my God," he said in terror as he watched the altimeter whir as he lost height. He looked at the crane he had made. The partner of Evelyn's, and braced himself as he hit the frigid water.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

It was Sunday, and Bella and all of the other nurses were leaving church.

"I'm no good at church," Betty pouted.

"What do you mean, sweetie?" asked Sandra.

"Well, whenever I'm up there getting my slate wiped clean, I can't help thinking how I'm going to dirty it up again," Betty leered and giggled as the other girls joined her.

"This from one of our resident virgins," Barbara mused. Bella snorted. With the way she and Danny have been going at it lately, Bella was no longer a virgin even in the loosest of terms. Betty knew, of course, she was the first Bella told, being her best friend and all, but none of the others knew. Betty elbowed her in the ribs as she got a suspicious look from Sandra. Bella shook her head, but didn't answer her.

"I've got to inventory supplies," Evelyn said to the others as she began to walk away.

"Kill me now, could you be anymore boring?" asked Martha.

"Don't bother," Betty tells her. "Sunday, she writes Rafe, 10 pages instead of the usual 5."

Barbara sighed. "Gosh, I wish I was in love." They heard a honk and a car with Anthony driving and Red in the passenger seat pulled up.

"Hey, sweetheart," Anthony said in Sandra's direction. Sandra gave him a look of disdain and gave him a single short wave in answer. "She hates me."

"Good to see you, Red," Betty smiled as she stepped up to the car.

"Sure good to see you too, Betty. What are you doing? You wanna go for a ride?" he said excitedly. Betty nodded happily.

"Come on," Red said as he climbed over the seats into the back, helping Betty in as well.

"Yeah, I'll be your chauffeur," pouted Anthony. The girls laughed as the car took off.

~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The men on the deck were rowdy as the fight wore on. They were all encouraging the match between Petty Officer Dorie Miller and a mechanic simply known as Joe. Danny, Gooz, and Billy managed to find decent spots underneath the turret of a wicked looking cannon.

"Alright, Walker, who you got? Fight's almost over," Gooz asked.

"I'll take the cook," Danny said after analyzing the fight.

"Why? You don't like money?" Gooz asked incredulously. They watched the match, seeing Joe back Miller into the corner of the ring before bobbing and weaving his way out.

"I'll put 5 on it," Danny said, now sure of his bet.

"Done. Against a mechanic? That guy craps rivets."

They could hear Petty Officer Miller taunting his opponent.

"How's it feel crawling up from that engine room? Sunlight bothering you?" he asked before he received a hammer fist to the left side of his jaw. He recovered nicely though.

"Ow," he managed before an uppercut met his chin.

"Man, he's getting all busted up in there!" one of his friends yelled. The bell rang signaling the end of the round as each fighter went to their corners to rally themselves.

"Come here, we gotta talk," demanded Miller's friend and self appointed coach. "Get down here. He can't hurt us." Water was poured over Miller's head in an effort to cool him off.

Miller looked at Joe in the other corner before replying to his friend. "He can hurt us. He cut us. We bleedin'!"

"Bleedin'?" Miller's friend touched the cut above his eye before tapping the finger to his tongue. "That's a scratch! You see this here," he said holding up a wad of paper bills. "This here's the hard earned green backs of every dish-washin', pot-scrubbin' chop on this here fleet. Now if we don't win, then Teeny here's gonna have to find himself another battleship! And there's no way I'm going back to the Arizona empty-handed!" Teeny shouted.

"Don't worry about the money. I'll send that smug, engine-fixin' snipe, back below decks where he belong." Miller said, tapping his gloves together as the bell signaled the next round.

"There you go! He slapped your mama, remember! Be a son-of-a-bitch!" Teeny encouraged him. It seemed from that point on, Petty Officer Miller was dancing as he dodged punches, getting his own licks in in between Joe's defenses, constantly nailing him in the face, then the midsection to weaken him. Danny from his spot could see the tide turning as well.

"Look at this!" Danny yelled as he was swept away in the excitement of the match. Miller got in a few more licks, before the ref called the match, but that didn't stop Joe from going down just as the bell rang. Danny turned to Gooz. "Oh! Where's my money?" he demanded the surfing pilot.

Gooz shook his head. "Nah. Fight's rigged."

"We're rich! Mwa!" Teeny yelled, kissing the wad of bills in his hand.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

At the dispensary, Petty Officer Miller was getting patched up by Evelyn. That scratch Teeny told Miller he had actually needed stitches.

"How'd you get this?" Evelyn asked.

"Boxing," Miller simply said.

"Did you win?" asked Bella in genuine curiosity. Miller gave a soft chuckle and smiled a small smile.

"Yes, ma'am."

"What'd you get for winning?" asked Evelyn.

"Respect," Miller said, as Evelyn finished off his stitches. Bella could understand the underlying bitterness in his tone. It was 1941. The Civil Rights Movement began in '54, and didn't actually make any decent headway until '68. Poor Petty Officer Miller was 27 years too young to get there, but that wasn't stopping him from fighting with everything at his disposal.

"So why do you have to fight with your fists to get respect?" Evelyn asked as she walked Petty Officer Miller out of the dispensary. Bella hung back. This was a lesson Evelyn needed to learn.

"I left my mama in Texas and joined the Navy to see the world. Become a man. They made me a cook. Not even that, I uh- I clean up after other sailors eat. 2 years, and they never even let me fire a weapon," mused Miller.

"Well, let's hope you never have to," Evelyn said. Bella had stopped listening at this point. At this moment, she clutched the table she was working at as the one car no loved one of a soldier wanted to see pulled up to the dispensary. Her breathing stopped, hoping it was a stranger. A hope that was in vain as she saw Danny exit the car.

Bella rushed outside, as Evelyn was telling Miller to take care of himself. The smile on Evelyn's face slowly melting off as she saw Danny in full dress uniform. His eyes red and swollen from the crying he has obviously done. Bella shook her head.

"No. No, Danny. Please tell me this isn't what I think it is," Bella said in a heartbroken voice. The three meet on the sidewalk in front of the building. Danny looking first to Bella, tears starting to fall from his already raw eyes. He then looked to Evelyn, who had a stunned, disbelieving look on her face. Seeing her begin to shut down, Danny pulled Evelyn to him, in hopes of gaining a response. He got one, in the form of heart wrenching tears.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Bella had left Danny to care for Evelyn. Though she wanted nothing more than a strong hug from the man, she knew Evelyn needed him more at the moment. Danny and Evelyn were currently sat beside a fountain, talking about Rafe, of course.

"You know he taught me how to fly?" Danny asked. "I always knew that no matter what trouble I got into, I'd never be in it alone. He'd be there with me. He was always pushing me to be better and faster."

"He told me you were a great flier," Evelyn said with tears running nonstop. "It was the same night he told me, he'd volunteered to go to England.

Danny huffed. "Yeah, I know about him volunteering. I was madder than the Hatter with broken china. It was Bella who got me to see sense." Danny then winced. He didn't want to remind Evelyn of his love when she had just lost hers.

"He was always trying to protect me. But you know what? I look at myself in the mirror in this uniform, and I still don't know who I am." Danny confessed. He hadn't even told Bella about these insecurities. "I look like a hero, but I don't feel like it. Rafe, he always looked the part, didn't he?"

"He couldn't wait to be one," Evelyn said, before she once again began sobbing into Danny's shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Everyone gathered at the Hula-La for Rafe's memorial. There was a small picture of him on a shelf, with a tag above it that read Killed In Action. Danny poured a shot in front of the photo before holding his own up.

"To Rafe McCawley. The best pilot, and best friend I ever knew. Or ever will know," Danny said as he did his best to hold back tears. He wasn't the only one. She and Betty had even fallen asleep together the previous night, having passed out while sobbing on the other's shoulder.

"To Rafe," Danny said once more, and downed his shot with a grimace. Danny never had been much of a drinker, not wanting to turn out like his father. Bella and everyone down their own shots, remembering a fallen pilot, hero, friend, and brother.


	5. Silence Will Fall

_**A/N 9/7/2018: Alrighty y'all. New chapter. I'm hoping to get another one up before or on the weekend, but no promises. I managed to get Saturday off after all, after much begging to the universe, so I will be attending TC Pagan Pride. Please leave me a review guys! Everyone, myself included, loves to know their stories are liked.**_

In Japan, planes were being loaded onto a carrier in preparation for the attack. Admiral Yamamoto was pleased, and said as much to Commander Genda.

"The attack training is progressing. For the success of this operation, high level bombing and torpedo attack training are crucial, Commander Genda," he stressed to the younger man, who gave him a bow in acknowledgement and respect.

"If we achieve surprise, the Americans will offer little resistance," Commander Genda informs Yamamoto.

"Set up teams of radio operators to send out messages the American will intercept, concerning every potential target in the Pacific. Include Hawaii- the clutter will be more confusing that way."

"Brilliant, Admiral," Commander Genda said in admiration. It truly was a brilliant plan to confuse the Americans.

The Admiral took on a slight air of defeat. "A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

In Washington, D.C. on sunny day at the end of July, the clicking of telegraphs pumping out decoded messages were doing nothing but confusing and frustration a one Captain Thurman.

"Look at this, look at this. The Japanese are flooding the Pacific with radio traffic. Everywhere from the Panama Canal to Southeast Asia," he says to no one in particular.

"There's no logical pattern, Captain," says a lieutenant from the Pentagon.

"No. There's always logic. They know we read their mail. They're trying to make us think their fleet is moving south. I'm not buying it," Captain Thurman said with conviction.

"Something, something's up. Otherwise, why would they take the trouble to bullshit me?"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The weeks following Rafe's death were on par with Edward leaving for Bella. That first night, after they had made sure Evelyn made it home, Bella stayed with Danny in an effort to comfort him. The way they came together was filled with pain, loss, and a need to fill a hole neither of them was meant to fill in the other's heart. But after that, Danny started to distance himself. He would spend more and more time up in the air training, it seemed. Bella thought it was in an effort to feel closer to Rafe, and that was partially true. For Danny it was something that still connected him to his lost brother, but it was also a way to escape the pressures of being a pilot in the military. Pressures he didn't even feel were there when Rafe was alive to keep Danny from seeing them as they were. Danny had eventually told her that he would get back to her, he just needed a little time to grieve for his friend. Bella was a little miffed at the 'Get back to her' bit, as if she was an annoying phone call rather than the girl he had been regularly seeing, but she could understand his need for space.

Betty and Bella could both hear Evelyn crying for Rafe at night still. Betty wondered if they should do something to help her, but Bella shook her head.

"It would do no good. The heartache she feels is like someone literally dug into her chest and pulled out half of her heart. Her soul is crying out for it's missing half," Bella said, knowing Betty had yet to fully know what it's like to lose the love of your life.

The mail had come earlier that morning, and Sandra signed for a stack of letters. Everyone went quiet in remembrance when Sandra said they had been mailed from England. Evelyn came into the kitchen, her hair still wet from her shower.

"Evelyn, I signed for these letters for you today," Sandra said, handing the stack to her. "They're from England."

"They're from Rafe," Evelyn said in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Ev. You know how long it takes mail to get here," Sandra tried to explain as Evelyn went onto the patio as she tried to hold back more tears.

Bella wanted to let her own tears fall. To see this reminder of Rafe knocking on their door as Danny is all but ignoring her these days. Bella was spending more and more time with Betty and Red, but no all the time, wanting to give the couple a chance to have some time alone. But that wasn't the most complicated bit.

Bella had found out that she was pregnant. Not far along, but she knew the signs well enough to make an educated guess. At first, when she missed her period, she thought it was just stress that had been brought on by the news of Rafe having been shot down, but when she started getting sick in the mornings, that then lasted all day practically, and her breasts being sore and going up a half a cup size, she knew. Her only hiccup was actually telling Danny.

Betty knew. Betty knew everything about Bella, and in turn, so did Red, seeing as Betty couldn't keep a secret from the man to save her life. Bella begged and begged them not to tell Danny, wanting to tell him herself. The only problem was, that even when Red told Danny that it was world ending important for him to talk to Bella he wouldn't. Bella even hotfooted it all the way to the plane's hanger in hopes of catching him, but Gooz snowballed her, saying that he was out training.

Before anyone knew it, three months had passed. It was a night like any other for Bella these days. She was out with Betty, Red, and all of their friends.

"Wow, check this out!" Billy exclaimed as they reached what was known as the crossroads of the Pacific. There was a sign pointing in every direction with a name of a city on it and how far away from that spot it was. "Crossroads of the Pacific. Tahiti, 1,700 miles!"

Red took Betty's hands and looked at the crossroads. Bella was worried, because he looked a little nervous.

"Say, Betty..." he said getting her attention. Bella gave a soft gasp and a smile as she saw Red get down on one knee.

"W-wou-" he tried to get out. Poor guy's stutter making the task so much more difficult. Betty, confused and worried for the man, knelt down to his level, but Red paniced.

"No, Betty! Get up!"

"What's going on, Red?" Betty asked softly.

"Just, stand up. Please," he said. The scene was both funny and one of those you just wanted to go 'AWW'.

"What do you mean?"

"Just-just stand up. Stand-" Finally their positions rang a bell with Betty and her eyes then got big and round as she looked at Red.

"Betty-"

"Red, c'mon! We got a dinner reservation," Billy yelled.

Red looked at Betty and then at Billy in frustration. "Can I get a minute?" He bowed his head in an attempt to regain his composure, but the Barbara had to say something.

"What's the matter, you sick?" Bella couldn't help the 21st century style face palm. She really couldn't.

Red then lost all patience. "Can a guy propose?!" Barbara looked shocked, even placing her hand in front of her mouth before jumping Billy and giving him a massive bear hug.

Bella was happy for her friends, she really was. But the smile pasted on her face was hard to maintain. Betty couldn't stop looking at the modest ring on her finger. It was really shiny. They all made their way to the restaurant, wanting to make their reservation.

On the way there however, they saw something that made the smile on Bella's face fade. It was Danny and Evelyn ...in the window seat of a small café, smiling. Bella froze as a wave of memories hit her hard. She didn't know how it happened, but in her time at Pearl, she had managed to nearly completely forget her memories from 2005. To nearly forget that Danny had left his girl for Evelyn.

Betty, seeing Bella's face pale and her taking a step back, went up to her to take her arm and help her stay standing as Barbara knocked on the window to wave at Evelyn.

"Betty, I'm going to head home. I'm afraid I don't feel well all of a sudden, " Bella murmured.

"I'll come with you, " she offered.

"No! No, you stay here with the others, and enjoy the night. It is after all, a very special night for you. Don't worry. The little one is just kicking up a fuss. I'll feel better by the morning, I'm sure. " Bella didn't know how she was able to sound so convincing, but Betty nodded her acceptance.

Bella made it home on autopilot. Her brain not wanting to come to terms with what she just saw, and the memories waring for dominance in her brain. It was information overload. She changed and got into bed, running her hand on her ever so slightly distended stomach.

"What am I going to do, Baby?" she asked the child growing within her, before breaking out into tears. Some deep distant part of her mind knew that Danny still loved her, but the pain was still too fresh. She had yet to properly mourn Rafe, because she was trying to make sure Evelyn just ate enough in a day. But now she was mourning. And in her grief, she couldn't see a way out. No reasonable way, that is. She'd never considered something so maudlin as suicide or self harm. She understood that those who did it, would do those things for different reasons, to be able to focus their emotions, to be able to escape their emotions, or hell, just to feel, but Bella always thought feeling was a good thing. It proved you were alive! Having died once before, she could attest to it's assistance in matters, though she wouldn't recommend repeating the experience.

She heard the door of the room open, and she managed to stifle her sobs to a few choked whimpers and sniffles.

"Bella?" she heard the familiar voice of Evelyn ask. Just the one person Bella probably wanted to see least at the moment.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Evelyn pressed, sitting down on the side of Bella's bed and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to get her to turn over. Bella didn't budge and her sobs returned full force. Evelyn kept trying to get Bella to speak to her, but Bella was too far gone.

"Evelyn, Danny's at the door for- Bella!" she heard Betty say. Betty gathered Bella into her arms and made soothing noises as she rubbed her back.

"I suggest you go see what Danny wants with you, Evelyn. As you can see, I've got Bella," Betty told the older woman without looking up, but with a faintly cold tone. Evelyn froze at the dismissal, but after looking at Bella, who was indeed calming down in Betty's presence, she went to see what Danny wanted.

"I tried. Rafe told me to look out for him and Ev, and I tried. But now, neither one want anything to do with me. And what's worse is I'm pregnant, too. Betty, it's too much. Everyone leaves me, sooner or later. You all leave!" Bella said with a hint of hysteria in her voice.

Betty just stayed with her, letting Bella finally purge her excess of emotions onto her red and white palm pattered dress. Once Bella's sobs petered out, Betty convinced her to take a shower, to wash off the day, and helped her get into bed.

"There you are, sweetheart. Go to sleep. I promise, everything will feel better in the morning," Betty crooned. She felt sorry for Bella, and insanely angry at Evelyn, She didn't like seeing her sister cry, and Evelyn being with Danny was the catalyst for something in Bella to snap. Betty sighed before getting into bed herself. Her day had been a dream. She could only hope Bella would be able to feel this way one day.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Danny was nervously pacing outside Evelyn's home in an attempt to gather the courage he needed to knock so he could return her handkerchief. Trying to work up the courage to ask her out for a cup of coffee or something. Finally, he just bit the bullet and did it, knocking three times with purpose on the screen door.

The light came on, and through the mesh of the screen, he could see Evelyn come out onto the porch in nothing but her night dress.

"Oh! You were asleep. I'm sorry." He said in a nervous rush and embarrassment as he made to descend the steps.

"Danny?" Evelyn asked.

"I'm sorry. You're not wearing any clothes," he continued to apologize as Sandra came out in her own night dress and curlers.

"Is something wrong?" asked Sandra.

"No! Nothing's wrong. There's no problem. Hi!" He said in the confusion, trying to answer Sandra's question and be polite at the same time.

"It's just Danny," Evelyn explained before Sandra ran back into the house, making sure her curlers were still in place.

"I...just...you… you forgot this," he said, holding out her handkerchief to her.

"Oh...thanks. It was good of you to take the trouble to drop it over...now," she said, indicating with her eyes the time of night.

"I...well, I thought you might need it. You know...uh, maybe tomorrow morning. If...uh, I mean, not that you wear this to work, but-"

"No, it's a hankie," Evelyn said, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Right, right. Yeah," he said, looking down at it, then handing it to her. He was just about to leave when he quickly turned back.

"Listen, I was thinking maybe...I could come by sometime. Give you a call-" Evelyn shushed him as he was getting a little too loud.

"I mean, if I gave you a call, could I come by sometime?" he asked in a whisper. Evelyn looked down in thought. Danny immediately got nervous though, thinking she was going to turn him down.

"Once, maybe...if you're not busy?"

Evelyn chuckled softly. "Yeah, maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Maybe. Ok. All right," he said, his heart a little lighter. "Good night." He said quickly as he walked back off of the porch.

"Good bye."

As he walked away, though, he couldn't help but to say to himself, "You are such an idiot!"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The next morning was slow at the clinic for most of the girls. It was Evelyn, Sandra, and Betty on staff, though Betty and Sandra were just talking, seeing as the ward was empty.

"Did you have fun last night?" snarked Betty. She was still sore at the way Evelyn made Bella cry.

"It wasn't what it looked like," Evelyn tried to explain as she set down the tray on supplies she had carried in.

"And if it was, it'd be all right," Sandra said.

"Not likely," Betty murmered.

"It's been months, it's time to move on," Sandra kept on.

"I am moving on," Evelyn said in a perfunctory way.

Betty snorted, but then saw Red enter the ward with a rather large bouquet of flowers.

"Red!" She yelled, before she ran to him and jumped in his arms as he did everything he could to hold her and the flowers up at the same time.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

In Washington D.C. a super 8 was working hard as it showed aerial pictures of Japan, both the ports and inland.

"The Japanese fleet is missing," stated Vice Admiral Fletcher. "They're operating under radio silence. This footage was shot 4 days ago on October 28." The super 8 was shut off and the lights switched on as the briefing room came into focus.

"Now, we're sending scout planes in wider vectors all over the Pacific, but they get nothing. They could be anywhere in here," he said, gesturing to a space of open sea on a map he had just unrolled.

"I don't understand how 2 whole carrier divisions could just disappear," Admiral Nimitz said looking at Captain Thurman.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Betty was right. Bella did feel better in the morning. She also felt worse. She was lost on what to do so she could get Danny alone and tell him that she was pregnant with his child. She would have had a hard enough time raising a child alone in 2005 never mind doing it in 1941, or '42 since that's when they'll be born. As she started getting around for the day, at around 3 in the afternoon, mind, she saw Evelyn exit the house in a beautiful red, mandarin cut dress, with matching red heels and lipstick. She was stunning, and that was definitely not in the military uniform code for nurses. That was an outfit that screamed that she was on a mission to snag a man. 2 + 2 didn't equal 5, she knew who Evelyn had dressed up for.

Bella was debating on going back to bed, but knew that Betty would tan her hid if she did. So she made a cup of really strong black tea, got dressed and headed for the clinic to see if they needed her. They didn't, but she stayed for a few hours anyway, just so she had something to do. Unfortunately, there wasn't much as it was, so she left and decided to take a walk around the base, eventually making her way to the airfield. It was dark by now, and most definitely not a time for a lady, let alone a lady in her condition to be out without a friend. No one could ever accuse Bella of being a lady. Suddenly, she heard the distinct sound of an engine propeller whirring up the night as a plane pulled into one of the hangers.

This confused Bella, seeing as how she knew Earl got old man with a shotgun crazy if a plane got back after sunset. Her blood ran cold as she saw Evelyn's familiar clothing step out of the plane and running into the parachute hanger. The plane shut off, and Danny's equally and achingly familiar form chased Evelyn into the building. Bella could see them horsing around a bit in the hanging parachutes before Danny pulled Evelyn close and kissed her. Bella's heart shattered as she remembered how Danny kissed. And now he was kissing someone Bella had at one point considered a very good friend. Not wanting to see anymore, and hoping she was able not to get sick, she ran home. There really was nothing like hiding under your own covers when you were out of options.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Clear!" yelled Anthony before Earl began to open fire on a target at the other end of the hanger. Keeping the the hammer down for a 5 count before he stopped and everyone got closer to see the spread easier.

"Aw, we're all over the page. We got one wall-eyed and one pigeon-toed," Danny said. "Anthony, tap in number 6."

"All right."

"Gooz, tap in number 3."

"All right!" Gooz yelled back.

"Hey, we got a visitor," Anthony said as he spotted Evelyn approaching.

"Oh...that ain't no Navy issue uniform, eh?" Gooz said as he got an eye full.

"Danny. It's Evelyn," Billy said. Danny turned to see her, and once he did, he knelt down to hide himself behind the cockpit.

"Jesus!"

"You all right?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, yeah." He assured him. "No-, I think I'm fallin' for her."

"You can't be serious," Red growled at him. "Have you forgotten her already?!"

Danny looked at Red confused. Had he forgotten who? Red threw his wrench down in anger and all but ran out of the hanger, as he heard Anthony talking about how if he had died and his best friend started in on his girl, he'd beat the crap out of him even from beyond the grave. Red wanted to do the honors for Rafe right here and now.

"Hey, Danny," said Evelyn in a nervous chuckle. "Where's everybody going?"

"Just bein' discreet," he said as he sat down nervously on the wing.

"Does it seem like everybody's acting a little strange?" she asked as she noted more odd behavior when she or Danny were around. Particularly together.

"No, Nah," he said, trying to play it off.

"Right," said Evelyn as she made a pointed glance to where everyone disappeared, then turned back with a smile. Danny remembered Red's reaction. That was strange. Red was usually a really friendly guy, with nothing seeming to piercing his skin. Who was it Danny was supposed to have forgotten? He couldn't have meant Bella, could he? Danny had at first just wanted space so he could grieve. He had explained that, hadn't he?

"Well, maybe—maybe a little. Yeah." Danny said, as he still tried to muddle through his feelings for the two women.

"Well, people in this outfit have way too much time on their hands," Evelyn said.

"Yeah," Danny agreed.

"I just hope they don't think there's been something goin' on between us. That's all"

"Oh, no. I mean, no. That would be embarrassing, right?" Danny rushed out as Gooz came back up to the toolbox under the plane to grab something.

"Forgot my wrenches," he said simply.

"That would definitely be embarrassing," said Evelyn definitively said as she turned back to Danny.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Hi, forgot my wrenches," he said again as he turned and ran back out.

"Hey, he really doesn't have to leave," Evelyn said. "I, uh, I'm just goin' out with the girls, so...I guess I'll see you later," she said as she looked up at him with her brown eyes. Eyes that reminded him so much of Bella. But what did he feel for Evelyn?

"Yeah," he said.

"All right."

"Yeah, all right. I'll see you around," Danny said as she began to leave. "Shit," he whispered. "Evelyn!"

Evelyn turned back and looked up at Danny with something in her eyes he couldn't place.

"Have you ever seen Pearl Harbor at sunset?" he asked, an idea forming in his head.

"Of course," she replied. Everyone had.

"Well...from the air?" he asked, nervously scratching his ear.

Evelyn was excited. She hadn't been flying since she was a little girl when her dad would take her up. Of course, one of his favorite things to do was scare the living daylights out of her by spinning and diving.

"You know, I could get kicked out of the military for this," Danny tells her with mirth on his face.

"Really?!" Evelyn asked, surprised that he would do something so against the rules.

"Yeah. Stay down," he chuckled as he took them up and gained altitude. The view what the stuff of dreams. There was no picture that could accurately catch it's beauty, but it was one people would try to capture anyway, in the hopes of passing on just a mere hint of the awe that one felt seeing it with their own eyes.

"The Hawaiians called this harbor Wai Momi. It means water of pearls," Danny informs her.

"It's so beautiful. My dad took me up a couple of times. Just don't do what he did- what do you call it when you flip over?"

"A barrel roll?"

"Yeah," said Evelyn as she continued to take in the scenery, not seeing the smirk of mischief on Danny's face before he jerked the stick to the left, causing the plane to the right.

"Oh god!" laughed Evelyn as Danny used his incredible strength to right the plane.

"What do you think?" he asked with a smile.

"I like that," she said, fanning her face.

They flew until the sun had completely set, before Danny started making his way back to the airfield. As they pulled in, both of them could hear Earl screaming bloody murder that the plane was only now pulling in, having noticed it missing when he did his rounds to make sure everything was locked up tight.

"Hey! That plane was supposed to be back here an hour ago!"

"Quick, hide in the parachute hanger," whispered Danny as he powered down the plane and followed her, tossing his leather bomber jacked onto a nearby chair just inside the hanger. He followed Evelyn, trying to catch her as she flowed around the hanging parachutes. He managed to sneak in as it opened and he took her waist. But the feel was wrong. The air was tense, and without really knowing it, he placed a kiss on her red lips.

It was wrong. All of it. He cared for Evelyn as his best friend's girl, but she wasn't the one he wanted. He wanted Bella. Bella, who hated wearing makeup. Bella, who was a half a head shorter than Evelyn and whose waist was a bit fuller. Whose laugh was stuck on repeat in his ears over and over all day. He pulled back with a frown, dropping his hands.

"I'm sorry! I- I can't do this. I'm so, so sorry," he stumbled out, as he began pacing back and forth.

"Danny?" Evelyn asked.

"I'm sorry. But this is all wrong. We can't do this."

"Hey, Danny. It's ok," Evelyn tried to calm him.

"No, no it's not. Evelyn, I care about you."

"I care about you, too," she smiled.

"But do you love me?" Danny asked bluntly. Evelyn froze at the question. The answer was simple, coming to her as quickly as the image of Rafe.

"No," she whispered. "No, I'm still in love with Rafe."

"And I'm head over heels, for Bella."

"So what do we do?" Evelyn asked. Danny sighed.

"First, I take you home. This is a very fond memory, Evelyn. One I will treasure. You are still my friend, but I see you as a sister, and nothin' more. And then, I'm going to talk to Bella. She's been tryin' to talk to me, especially recently. I suppose it's time to truly let Rafe go," Danny finished with a sigh. Evelyn nodded and Danny offered his arm, as a true gentleman and did as he said, and walked her home.


	6. Homecoming Surprise

_**A/N 9/9/2018: Alrighty guys, I have a couple points of clarification for those who don't know Naval Ranks. The rank of Fleet Admiral, is the only rank of Admiral in the US that is reserved for war time only. The last four to hold the ranks, one for each of our fleets, were men named, Halsey, Leahy, King, and Nimitz. From there down you have Vice Admiral, and Rear Admiral, which from my very limited and inexperienced knowledge, is the lowest of the Admiral ranks. I'm sure there is one more Admiral rank in there, but I can't rightly remember. In other news, I meant to get this chapter up yesterday, with one more today, but my mom decided she needed to wait 6 hours at the ER for them to tell her nothing more than to take tylenol for her abdominal pain. That was fun! (Note: heavy sarcasm) So, I'm going to write what I can before work, and hopefully finish after and post it up in the wee hours of the morning. I hope y'all enjoy this. ~Angel**_

Danny would come to find that getting time with Bella, let alone speaking to her, would be harder than he thought. He learned that Bella had become practically a recluse, only speaking to Betty and Red. She had even cut off her friendship with Evelyn. Whenever he attempted to speak to either Betty or Red, Betty would give him a cold look and would tell him, with disdain, that she would tell him where Bella was, was her own business, an none of his. The once he asked Red about Bella, Red had clocked him one, and left him on the ground where the hammer he unexpectedly called a fist left him with a bleeding lip.

Danny was starting to get desperate. He missed Bella greatly, and didn't understand why she seemed to be avoiding him. It was the end of November already. Danny hadn't realized he had let so much time go by since seeing Bella, and he was now beginning to see the ramifications of it. His greatest fear was that it was too late. That Bella had decided that he wasn't worth the trouble anymore or if she had moved on, even if they had been rather exclusive in their relationship. _That didn't stop you from trying with Evelyn, did it?_ He thought to himself. He now regretted the time he let slip by.

He finally managed to get a glimpse of Bella as she left the dispensary after her shift with Betty. She looked healthy enough, but it was the look in her eyes that had his heart stutter. They looked sad. As if her soul was crying out for something. Danny so wanted to call out to her. He wanted to fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness for everything he put her through. He was just about to give in to his urge when she stopped as if she was suddenly hit with a dizzy spell. One hand went to her stomach as the other went to her mouth, before she turned on her heel and dashed back into the dispensary. She was ill. Was it bad? Or was it something small, like a stomach bug? He was going to go in after her, when Red stepped in, whispering something to Betty as they followed Bella into the building.

There was no way Red would let him within 100 feet of Bella. He would have to wait and see if he could catch her in other company or alone. He needed to speak to her, and convince her that he loved her. That he wanted her. Only her.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

On the 29th of November, there was a meeting being held in the Navy Department of the Pentagon. The mystery of the missing divisions of Japan's Navy were finally riddled out.

"They call it 'The Vacant Sea'. None of the major sea lanes go through it. You could bury the entire land mass of Asia there, and nobody would know," stated Admiral Fletcher.

"From there, they could attack anywhere," said Admiral Nimitz as he walked around to Fletcher's side of the table they were using as a model.

"Our last signals intercept indicate that the Japanese task force is heading south towards the Philippines or southeast Asia. But Captain Thurman of Naval Intelligence has his own theory about the missing ships," Admiral Fletcher said with an air of disbelief towards the decoder. Captain Thurman stood a little straighter at the attention that was called to him.

"Sir I believe they'll try to hit us where it'll hurt us the most, Pearl Harbor," he tells his superior.

"It's over 4,000 nautical miles from Japan to Pearl. That's a long distance to steam a navy, Captain," Admiral Nimitz pointed out, trying to figure the Captain's thoughts on the matter. "You're theory is based on what?"

"Well, it's what I would do," Thurman stated, trying to make the Admiral understand his gut feeling.

"That's no exactly hard evidence, Captain Thurman."

"Well, Admiral, if I had hard evidence, we'd already be at war."

"Sir, we can read their diplomatic codes faster than they can type them," cut in Admiral Fletcher. "And Captain Thurman's cryptology team is still trying to crack the naval codes."

"The intercepts have missing words and garbled lines, so to explain the decrypts, we have to try to interpret what we think they're trying to do," Captain Thurman tries to explain.

"Interpret. You mean guess," Admiral Nimitz said, not amused by the word.

"They use their informed intuition, sir," Admiral Fletcher says. Captain Thurman however, wasn't going to try to explain away the word he used to the substitution Admiral Nimitz provided.

"We guess. It's like playing chess in the dark. Any rumor, troop movement, ship movement, spine-tingle, goose bump, we pay attention to it. When I was in the Asiatic Fleet, the locals used to try to get outside of a problem to try to see the inside. Well, I see a strike on Pearl. It's the worst thing that could happen. A blow to Pearl would devastate the Pacific Fleet's ability to make war."

"So, sir you would have us mobilize the entire fleet, at the cost of millions of dollars, based on this spine-tingling feeling of yours," Admiral Nimitz questioned.

"No, sir. I understand my job is to gather and interpret material. Making difficult decisions based on incomplete information from my limited decoding ability, is your job, sir."

"Then break the damn naval code, Captain, so I can make a better decision," Nimitz growled at him.

"Aye, sir. We are trying," he said, his resolve strengthening at the direct order from the Fleet Admiral.

"I wonder if we shouldn't put the Pacific Fleet on full alert," Nimitz tells the Vice Admiral after Thurman had left.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"In case the optimism of the _Honolulu Advertiser_ proves unfounded, gentlemen, what are General Short and the army going to do about protecting my ships?" asked Admiral Kimmel as he put down the day's paper.

"Within a ten mile radius of your harbor, we have fighter planes here at Wheeler, bombers at Hickam, and a training strip at Haleiwa. We've recently established a radar station here that can detect planes 125 miles out," said the Army Commander sent to them to explain Washington's orders.

"Which is a month old, Admiral, and untested," said Kimmel's Aide.

"I've seen these new radar screens, Major. There's no way of telling whether they're ours, theirs, or a flock of damn birds," Kimmel said with no faith in the new technology.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

At Pearl Harbor, a communications officer was listening on a call.

"I'm intercepting a call from Tokyo to somewhere close by Pearl."

"There's a call from Tokyo," says a young woman. "They say they don't know you."

"Hello?" came the voice of a gentleman over the line. "Hai. Moshi moshi."

"It's a local dentist," explains the young officer. He can see Pearl Harbor from his office. Are there many sailors around? Uh, the dentist says that the flat ships are not in port. They're talking about the weather. He doesn't seem to know who he's talking to."

There was no reply to the dentist, so he inquired, "Hello? Hello? Moshi moshi? Hello? That was a strange call."

Then the line went dead.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Admiral Kimmel's Aide found him in the local barber's getting his morning shave.

"Admiral, can I speak to you in private?" he asked his superior urgently.

After the Aide told him of the intercepted call, Admiral Kimmel was only confused all the more.

"Why would a spy use a phone? They know we tap all international lines," he asked his Aide for ideas.

"Our listeners feel it's probably not code talk. It sounds like someone in Japan is sneaking around, asking a local citizen the location of our carriers."

"Well, that makes me feel all warm inside," Kimmel snarked, before giving an order. "Get the FBI on it immediately. Have we found the goddamn Japanese fleet yet?"

"No, Admiral. The bases are looking all over the Pacific."

"So the entire fleet could be rounding Diamond Head right now and we wouldn't know a thing about it?! Get on it. Admiral Kimmel's Aide and the officer with him saluted as they went to carry out their orders.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

On the night of December 6th, Evelyn had the late shift. She was finishing the paperwork for the night when she felt a familiar and nearly forgotten sensation. One she hadn't felt in months, and one she had longed to feel everyday since it had been ripped from her in an explosion over the Pacific. She savored it for a moment before shaking her head. This too was just a wish and a dream. She needed to put Rafe away, but that seemed easier said than done apparently. Finishing her work, she cleaned up her station and left for the night. She was making sure she had her key with her before she looked up and saw him.

Rafe was in front of her, standing there less than a foot from her, in his uniformed glory. Evelyn stopped dead with a gasp, covering her mouth in shock. She couldn't believe it so much, haven't hallucinated him in dreams, that she had to reach out and touch him, her hands connecting to his chest. A wall of solid man. He gave his own soft gasp as her hands connected with his chest.

"I told you I'd come back," he said in his painfully familiar accent before pulling her towards him and kissing her forehead gently. It was then she felt faint, having to lean nearly all of her weight onto him.

"Here, sit down. Sit down," he said, leading her to a nearby bench. "It's okay. It's all right."

Evelyn couldn't stop touching him, her hand resting on his cheek.

"You're real."

"Yeah."

"I wished for this every day," she said.

"I know, me too. Every second. So did I," he responded gently, resting his forehead on hers for a mere moment before he pulled back to hear what she said.

"I thought you were dead. They said you were shot down in the sea."

"Yeah, I was. I was in the ocean. It was so cold. I missed you. I, uh, I got picked up by a French fishing boat. I was in occupied France and I couldn't get word out. I'll tell you all about it, I promise. But I'm fine. I'm okay. And I'm here now. Evelyn...I just wanted to see you," he said happily as she shed a tear. "You're so beautiful."

Rafe took a moment to drink in the sight of her, never thinking he would see her again in all the time he was in the ocean, or his harrowing escape from the Nazi's. Even as he continuously pleaded with any deity that would hear him to see her just one last time. Slowly, he kissed her again. His Evelyn. "I love you," he whispered into the kiss. "I love you."

Evelyn pulled back. She was ecstatic to have him home, but now of all times, Evelyn couldn't help but feel the compounding guilt of what she and Danny nearly came to. Rafe, being the amazing man he was, tried to stop her tears, not knowing why they were being shed.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Evelyn...Evelyn, I'm back. It's okay. I won't leave you again, I promise."

Evelyn just had to tell him what happened. She just didn't know how. "Rafe you died...and so did I."

"I know, but I'm- I'm- It's fine now. I'm back. We're together." Evelyn tried to get the words to come out. She really did. But how do you tell the man you love, that you nearly did something beyond friendship with the man he considered a brother.

"I mean, we are together...right?" he asked, uncertain now for the first time in the entirety of their relationship.

It was then they heard the sound of running steps approaching them, and they both turned to see Danny stop dead, the telegram telling him Rafe was alive still clutched in his hand.

"Rafe!" he exclaimed, trying to catch his breath. Rafe looked back at Evelyn, coming to some sort of conclusion in his head. He looked into her eyes, trying to find something that would go against what his head was telling him, but he read guilt in her expression, and that seemed to have solidified his assumptions, whatever they were. He swallowed thickly and got up, feeling numb.

"Rafe," Evelyn said, in an attempt to coax him to talk. He spoke, but what he said, didn't encourage either Danny or Evelyn. Rafe held his hand in the universal halt sign.

"Stay away," he said, and turned to leave. He had to find Bella. Bella would tell him what was going on.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Commander Genda was listening to the radio, tuned into a station from Honolulu. They were close enough to get a radio signal. The time of the attack was drawing all the quicker.

"If the Americans had any suspicion of our attack, the radio would let us know," he tells the men on deck with him. But there was no hint from the radio that the Americans were on to their plan. They would attack as planned. Now was not the time for error.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

It took Rafe a good hour before he found Bella, and only then because he ran into Betty. Sweet little Betty, who promptly slapped him for getting himself shot down, before hugging him tightly to make sure that he wouldn't go anywhere.

"Have you seen anyone else yet?" she asked him as she started leading him somewhere. Rafe had to swallow past the heart suddenly lodged in his throat.

"Evelyn and Danny. I don't understand what's going on, Betty. I need to see Bella."

"Oh, Rafe," Betty breathed. "Bella isn't doing too good. It would do her good to see you, even if it would be the shock of her life."

"What's wrong with Bella?" Rafe asked worriedly. Betty sighed.

"Losing Danny hit her hard. But he left more than he thought behind," she explained cryptically.

"I don't understand. Betty what are you saying?"

Betty shook her head, and continued to lead Rafe until they reached her home. Betty then lead him into the house and to the bedroom, where he saw Bella on her side, sobbing softly.

"She puts on one hell of a mask during the day. She has no problem functioning. Doing her work and taking care of herself. Her only weakness is when she's done for the day. After she comes home, she cries until she's exhausted enough to sleep."

Rafe didn't say anything as he entered the room, and stepped up to Bella's bed, sitting down on the edge. She stiffened, but didn't stop her crying, nor did she turn to look at him.

"Bella," he said softly. Bella immediately turned to see him and her eyes widened before she launched herself into his arms.

"Rafe!" she cried. Rafe immediately grabbed onto her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Rafe, I don't know what to do. I tried to look after him, but he wouldn't let me after we heard about your crash. I tried to talk to him. And then I tried even harder after I found out, but then I saw him with Evelyn in the parachute hanger, and I knew I lost him. I just couldn't do it anymore. I won't let my child feel this heartbreak."

Rafe paled at everything she said, even if most of it sounded incoherent, he caught enough to want to kick the shit out of Danny. Rafe shushed Bella and rocked her until she fell asleep. He then made sure she was covered before he went and found Betty in the kitchen, serving two coffees.

"What the hell happened, Betty? I come home and everything is wrong!"

Betty sighed and gestured to the empty chair and waiting coffee, which he took.

"When we got the news you had been shot down, Danny pushed Bella away, and Evelyn buried herself in work. Danny and Evelyn actually didn't start being seen together until a couple of months after. Bella tried everyday for weeks, but around a month and a half ago, she saw something. She wouldn't say what, only that she say Danny and Evelyn together and it most certainly wasn't platonic. Now, it's Bella whose shut herself off. The only two people she'll say anything to is Red and I. She doesn't laugh. I'm afraid for her. Before she found Danny and Evelyn, Bella found she was pregnant. All of this stress can't be good for the baby."

Rafe closed his eyes in pain at finally hearing Betty confirm what information he had gleaned from Bella. Danny was going to be a father and he wasn't even around to help. He wouldn't even let Bella tell him, instead wallowing in his own grief for so long, he didn't see that she had never truly grieved. Rafe growled and stood. It was time to find the little shit.

"Thanks for the coffee, Betty. It seems I have an idiot to punch."

"Make sure you sneak one in for me," she said.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Rafe decided that instead of hunting down Danny, he would let Danny come to him. So he and Red headed to the Hula-La for drinks and so Rafe could regal everyone with tales of dogfights in the Eagle Squadron.

"RAAAAAAAAFE!" yelled Red once he had gotten a few she into him.

"Oh, god damn it. There you go," said Billy, handing out more.

"A real live Ace!" continued Red, but Rafe corrected him.

"An Ace is only 5, I shot down 6 M.E.s. And I got 2 smokers too. They don't count them. Of course I got shot down myself before they could pin me."

"So you got back from behind enemy lines, huh? So what's that combat like?" asked Gooz.

"Where you scared?" asked Anthony.

"Hey! One at a time," Red shouted at the others.

"Well, them Luftwaffe boys can fly pretty good. It's not like, you know, training. They're uh..." he faltered as he finally saw Danny, before he picked up the thread again.

"See, they're all about tactics, is what it is. See, the Nazi's, right, they're faster than you are, so they'll disappear and they get up in the soup, and they'll throw like a roll or a hammerhead and they'll come around on your high side, you know, shoot you from behind- like some Americans will."

The atmosphere in the luau got tense as Rafe and Danny continued to stare each other down. Red, trying to diffuse the situations looked at Gooz.

"He...Gooz, you're lookin' at a real live Ace."

"Well, let me give you the shirt off my back!" Gooz said loudly, as he took his shirt off, and held it out to Rafe. "There you go!" Everyone cheered.

"I'll take it from you! I can see how y'all been spending your time out here," Rafe said,

"Hey, Rafe, we gotta talk, all right?" Danny said, trying to get Rafe alone so they can come to terms. It seemed Rafe had come to the wrong conclusion about him and Evelyn.

"Yeah, right," Rafe said, straightening Gooz's shirt on his shoulders and pouring a couple of shots, placing one on the table in front of Danny. "Here. Why don't you have a drink? I'll make a toast. To returning from the dead. Wasn't all I expected, but, well, that's life. To my best friend and loyal buddy Danny. For keepin' up the war effort back here at home."

Everyone but Danny downed their shots, and Rafe sat. Seeing the drink still on the table, Rafe said, "You know where I come from, somebody makes a toast to you and you don't drink, that's sayin' somethin'."

"All right, Rafe. That's how it's gonna be. To you." Danny downed the drink.

"Yup. You guys need to spend some time hashing things out," said Red, getting up. Rafe put a hand on his chest and pushed him back onto his stool.

"Aw, hell no, Red. Come on. No, no, no. We're celebratin' here. Me over there fightin'...almost gettin' killed...My friend Danny back here lookin' after my interests for me. Y'all know Danny was even good enough to look out for my girl for me while I was gone?"

"We thought you were dead Rafe, and it gutted us both, and we were just tryin' to get on with our lives."

"Life is good, ain't it, Danny? What about Bella? Betty told me, she didn't even allow herself to cry until she saw you and Evelyn together in that hanger," Rafe said, getting the first hard hit in. Danny paled, and his eyes widened, realizing that that was why she was avoiding him. She thought he moved on.

He needed to find her, so he could set her straight, but he had to end this with Rafe before hand. They needed to see eye to eye. "You know, you're a rotten drunk. You always have been."

"Yeah, well, you're a lousy friend. That's a new development."

"You left her to fight somebody else's war. And you made damn sure that I didn't go with you, and we thought that you were dead-"

"I almost did die, you little son of a bitch! And her face was the last thing that went through my mind, so don't stand there and tell me to act like it's all right!"

"Yeah, well, Rafe, I stayed. I stayed and you made sure of that." Rafe stared into Danny's eyes defiantly, trying and ultimately failing to keep his temper in check. He let his fist fly, catching Danny on his jaw.

"That was from Betty! And that was my left hand too!" Rafe shouted at him as Billy and the others tried holding him back. Danny, once he regained himself, ran at Rafe, and tackled him, sending him over the railing an onto the beach.

That was the cue for everyone in the luau to start an all out brawl. Rafe was just climbing back up to join the fight when Danny jumped onto his back, hooking his arm around Rafe's neck.

"Call me a lousy friend?!"

"Get your hands off!" Rafe said, turning and sending another punch. Only Danny saw this one coming and ducked, causing Rafe to punch the memorial wall. As he clutched his hand in pain, Danny socked him in the gut, causing him to double over. Rafe regained himself quickly, sending another punch at Danny. "That was for Bella!" he yelled, tackling him, and they both landed on the beach winded.

An MP jeep pulled up to the luau, and sailors and soldiers alike started to scatter. "Oh, no. They're gonna throw us in the brig. Let's get out of here," Rafe said. The old protectiveness of Danny flaring a bit. They both hopped into the car Danny drove over, and left amidst the other running men.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Admiral Yamamoto was giving a last briefing before the attack, updating everyone on how far out from Hawaii they were.

"The task force is 320 miles north of Pearl Harbor," everyone nodded their understanding before they all watched a man tear the date of the 6th off the calender. "The rise and fall of our empire is at stake"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Danny skidded the car to a stop at Rafe bent over the side to empty the alcohol out of his stomach.

"Rafe, you're the only family I got. When you were gone, it was the loneliest I had ever been. The same for her, too," Danny said, his voice cracking the most imperceptible of amounts.

"Oh, boy, now you're really breakin' my heart."

"If you hadn't gone, none of this would've happened."

"Oh, so it's my fault, I guess," Rafe snarked, looking out into the night.

"Damn it, Rafe," Danny whispered, sliding up to sit on the back of his seat. "I just know there's gotta be some way we can work things out so that...things can be right between me and you."

"I just don't see how it could ever be the same."

"Why? We did nothing, Rafe. Despite what Bella said she saw, Evelyn and I did nothing. It came close, I'll tell you that. But, she admitted that she still loved you, and, even though I've been acting like a jackass about it, I'm still madly in love with Bella. I've been trying to talk to her the past couple of weeks, but Betty and Red have been stone wallin' me at every turn," Danny said, his elbows on his knees and his hands pulling at chunks of his hair. Rafe looked at Danny in surprise.

"You swear it? You swear that you hold no love for Evelyn?"

"Rafe, I love Evelyn, but like a very good friend or a sister. It's Bella I want to spend my life with," Danny said emphatically.

Danny and Rafe sat in silence for a few moments before Rafe let one last punch fly, catching Danny in the jaw again. Danny fell out of the car and onto the beach, cradling his now bleeding and busted lip. He looked up at Rafe, climbing out of the car.

"What the hell, man?!" Danny asked.

"I owed you one more," said Rafe. "For your kid."


	7. Attack to the Heart

_**A/N 9/10/2018: Whew! Longest chapter yet! Though I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm pretty sure I glitched out Amazon though, trying to get the dialogue right. lol What do y'all think? Good? Let me know. ~Angel**_

 **Revered Father,**

 **I got now to fulfill my mission and my destiny. I hope it is a destiny that will bring honor to our family, and if it requires my life, I will sacrifice it gladly to be a good servant of our nation.**

The Japanese men on board the carrier all scrambled to their planes, after paying respects to their leaders, and toasting to a hopefully successful attack. The flags were lowered, and the planes sped off the decks of the carriers and into formation as they headed to the island of Hawaii in the light of the rising sun. The symbol of their nation.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

A radar operator on the island of Hawaii had to do a double take at a large haze that appeared on the screen. It was moving too fast to be a flock, but he didn't know of any plans for training that morning, it being a sunday.

"Hey," he called to the others. "I've got a large haze." He picked up the phone to call the base, hoping his lieutenant had an answer. "That's too big to be planes, right?" he asked the other operator on duty with him. He finally got an answer back that it was nothing but a shipment of B-17's from the mainland.

The operator pursed his lips as he hung up. "Nothing to worry about. That's a heck of a lot of B-17s."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Admiral Kimmel was enjoying his Sunday morning on the golf coarse. But the life of a Navy Admiral is always at the call of Uncle Sam, as that became apparent when his Aide pulled up in a Jeep behind him.

"This better be good, Commander," he said as he continued to watch Hop make his play.

"One of our destroyers reports having fired and sunk enemy submarine attempting to enter Pearl Harbor at 0653," his Aide said in a direct tone.

"It's 7:20!" Kimmel said, checking the time he had.

"We had decoder delays, Admiral," the Aide said, knowing an explanation was demanded.

"Relay this to Washington, and recall the staff," he ordered before going to let Hop know their morning golf run would need a raincheck.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The sounds of dozens of typewriters and decoders clicked away as a full message finally came through to Captain Thurman.

"Failure...peace talks...useless," breathed the Captain in dread. He picked up his phone and called to Admiral Nimitz's office.

"Thurman here," he said in a hurry. "Tokyo transmitting to their embassy in Washington- discontinue use of your decoding machine and dispose of immediately, special emphasis on destroying important parts.- Do you read that? Acknowledge?!"

~~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Admiral Kimmel pulled up to the base offices, meeting his Aide with a paper in hand.

"Admiral, Naval Intel intercepted a transmission from Tokyo to the Japanese Embassy in Washington instructing them to break apart all decoder machines, and burn all secret documents."

"The Japanese are expecting a war," said Kimmel with mounting horror. "Should we?"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The offices of Navy Intel were abuzz with activity.

"Warning of Japanese Aggressive movement in any direction."

"Broken relationship. Hostilities imminent," murmered Captain Thurman as he finished reading the relay. "But where?!" he asked, looking up to the outlay on the table.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

It was an idyllic morning like any other on Pearl Harbor. Many of the Army and Naval men were taking advantage of their time off, and slept in. Others were seeing to their morning duties of raising flags or the upkeep of their uniforms or person. Some military men were gambling on deck in a friendly game of dice or fishing.

Rafe and Danny were passed out cold when they heard the familiar buzz of propellers above their heads, waking them.

"Why the hell is the Navy doing practice this early on a Sunday?" complained Danny as he turned over to go back to sleep. After Rafe's comment the night before, Danny was set to run over to Bella's and beg on his knees to speak with her, but Rafe held him back, saying she had passed out in a sob induced exhaustion and she needed the rest after finally being able to get some release. Danny reluctantly agreed, but they stayed up a while longer, hashing things out.

Both he and Rafe however were immediately awoken when a sharp explosion rent the air. And they finally looked up to see the massive amount of planes flying over head. Then a plane began to open fire on them, bullets hitting the ground in a crack as a photographer jumped in the back of their car.

"Go, go, go, go!" he urged, as Danny backed out. "I'm with Navy newsreel and I can tell you one thing- them ain't Navy planes!"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

In the harbor, some of the men below deck were still unaware they were under attack, thinking the call to their stations was a drill. That was, until a fellow sailor yelled down.

"We're being bombed! We're being bombed! Get up! Get up!"

Men scrambled on decks, many in nothing but their skivvies, as they all manned their positions. The men on the USS Arizona were no different. Although Teeny Mayfield was sure it was another drill as he peeled the mountain of potatoes. That was, until a bomb landed right in front of him, coming through the ceiling and down through the floor and into the ammunition magazine below. Where the 14" gun shells below each weighed 1,500 lbs a piece. The fact that the powder for such guns was stored separately meant nothing.

"What the hell was that?" yelled a sailor above him. Everyone looked down into the hole.

"It's a bomb!" yelled another as they all scrambled to get above deck. Teeny looked back down into the hole, his heart stopping.

"Son of a Bi-" but he didn't finish, as the bomb went off and the Arizona was torn in half by the resounding explosion.

On board the Oklahoma, Petty Officer Miller was taking the Captain's morning tea service to the kitchens when the attack hit. "Man your battle stations! Man your battle stations!" came over the intercom.

"This is no shit! They just sank the Arizona! General quarters! General quarters! All hands, man your battle stations! This is no damn drill!"

Petty Officer Miller ignored General Quarters and rushed to the deck, to see if he could help.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~

Rafe and Danny were driving to the airfield when Rafe spotted the tell tale red dot on the side of the planes flying overhead.

"They look like Japs," he observed.

"I didn't know the Japs were even sore at us?" asked the news guy in the back.

"Danny, you just get me into a goddamn airplane!" Rafe said, feeling antsy. They all ducked as the Japanese began to strafe the roadways.

"I hope there's still an airfield left," said Danny.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Evelyn woke to the sound of popping and cracking in the distance. She got up off the couch and went out into the yard with the other girls. Everyone in shock at what they were seeing.

"Hurry up!"

"What in the world?"

"Look! So many!"

Evelyn was frozen numb with fear for a moment at seeing all of the planes rushing into the Harbor, and the fireballs the followed into the sky once they got there. Bella's heart accelerated. She knew this would happen, she just didn't understand the magnitude at the time. She wasn't a part of it. Over 60 years had separated her from the event, but now. Now it was as Earth shaking as 9/11. Both literally and metaphorically. She hadn't known anyone in New York during that attack, though she felt the impact. This was a whole other ball game.

She saw Betty, Sandra, Martha, and Barbara all come down the steps. "Everybody to the hospital!" yelled Bella, already running to the door.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Everything was quiet at the airfield. Most everyone was asleep when Red went to relieve himself and take care of his morning routine before the other men hogged the hot water. He gasped as he saw the red rising sun on the side of the planes and ran into the sleeping quarters, trying to wake the other men. His stutter couldn't have chosen a worse time to impede him. He still tried to warn everyone as he pulled on his pants, stammering, but not getting past the first syllable.

"Why's the Navy always buzzin' us?" asked Anthony in his thick New York accent.

Red, seeing someone was awake, tried even harder, but it all came out in stuttered breaths and gasping. He tried to point out the window, but no one was paying attention.

"Shut up, Red," Billy shouted.

The men began sitting up.

"Come on."

"Red, it's too early," the other men said. He finally closed his eyes tight, and forced with everything in him.

"THE JAPS ARE HERE!" a heartbeat before .50 cal rounds pierced the walls and windows.

The other pilots ducked as the planes passed, then scrambled out in a rush.

"What the hell?! Let's go. Let's go!"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Petty Officer Miller came out on deck to gunfire, and immediately began to climb to the bridge when he saw the explosion there. He needed to get to his Captain. He would know what to do. But when he got to the bridge, it was a mess. Everyone was dead, and his Captain was laying propped up with a hole in his gut.

"I got you, Captain," said Miller, as he removed his apron and pressed it against the wound. The Captain yelled orders to him, hoping to get the message to someone before he bled out.

"You radio for air cover! Initiate Damage Control! Find my XO. Tell him to assume command. And you make sure the gunners-"

"Everyone is where they need to be, Captain," said Petty Officer Miller, attempting to allay the fears of the Captain in his final moments. "You trained us well. You trained us well." Miller could see the Captain relax in death. "Captain?"

He was about to start grieving until he heard an explosion, causing him to cry out in shock and anger. Reminding him there was a better time to do so, and it was most certainly not now.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Everyone ducked as the Japanese began strafing and bombing the roadways to the hospital. Bella ran along side Betty and they ducked as they attempted to avoid the hail of gunfire that rained down on them. Bella could see Evelyn and Sandra take cover by a fountain, before the bullets let up and they continued on.

Then, Bella could see everything as if in slow motion. One of the planes had released a bomb and it was falling in a trajectory that would land right on top of Betty. Or rather, right in front of her so she would be crushed by the resounding force of the explosion. Bella couldn't have that. Her sister was going to get married. She had her whole life ahead of her. Bella's number came up when she walked into Biology class and Edward Cullen had caught a sniff of her.

She should have died then. Now she could set things right. She put all of her will into her legs, gaining on Betty and using every bit of strength she had to push her out of the way as the bomb landed right in front of her, just as she saw. Bella could feel the heat of the explosion as the force threw her into a nearby car. Her last sight was of Betty running up to her with a panicked look on her face. Her last thoughts were of Danny, and how she hoped he would be spared the pain of her passing, before she gave into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Go, go, go, go, go. Let's go! Everybody move," yelled disembodied voices and pilots scrambled for cover as they tried to get into their planes.

"Get the ammo for that .50 cal! Get that .50 cal!" screamed Billy. "Come on, man! We've gotta get this thing loaded up!" Billy jumped over sand bags and into the hide, loading the gun. The Japanese fired mercilessly upon the American pilots. Red taking cover with Anthony under the fuselage of a plane. Danny and Rafe pulled up as Red was trying to get into his plane.

"Come on! Get down!" hollered Rafe as the Japanese came back around once again. They ran as they tried to find a whole plane in the midst of gun fire. A truck exploding practically in their faces.

"Danny, get me into a damn plane!" said Rafe.

"Come on!" Danny urged, pulling Rafe by the back of his shirt.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Petty Officer Miller stayed low as he approached the late Captain's XO, who was yelling orders for more ammo.

"Sir! Captain says your in charge, sir!" yelled Miller over the noise. The XO nodded and continued to shout for more ammo.

"Send up ammunition for the 5" guns!"

"Medic!" screamed a sailor, and Miller went over to check on the two. It was no use. The sailor was already dead. Having fulfilled his orders from his Captain, Miller didn't know what to do now. He felt lost. Until he saw the unmanned gun in front of him. It was loaded, he could see the belt of shells coming from it. Going up to the gun, he let the anger and impotence he felt at being a man of color in the Navy at this time well up. He would prove to them he was of more use than as a kitchen hand! His Captain had told him that the ship, and by extension, he was proud of him for his achievements as a boxer, but he strove for more.

Readying the gun, he fired upon a passing plane. Any and every plane that passed. But he needed a continuous fire to down one. So he aimed on a plane coming right for him from a distance, The gun was putting strain on his muscles that boxing never prepared him for. It took everything to keep it in one place.

"Come on! Come on, you son of a bitch!" he yelled still firing. He screamed as he managed to perforate the wing of a plane, tearing it off and bringing it crashing down into one of the gun turrets. He screamed in mad victory as he managed to down a plane for his Captain and crew.

"AH HA! OH YEAH!"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The hospital doors burst open as doctors, nurses, and men who needed medical help poured in.

"I need help!"

"We need some help over here!"

"Get to the supply room!" yelled Evelyn. "Get everything out!" She and two other nursed loaded trays, carts, even hampers with supplies and wheeled them onto the ward, to the surprise of the patients in there for bones that were broken while surfing for the bar fight the previous night.

"Plane incoming!" yelled a doctor as the hospital shook from an explosion. Once that passed he gave an order.

"Cut them down! Cut 'em down!" he said, as Evelyn took a straight razor and did as he asked.

"Come on, Come on! Get 'em away from the windows!"

The men screamed in pain as their limbs fell once cut and then again when they were unceremoniously tossed to the floor along the far wall, as they were covered with the mattresses from the beds they were just laying on. They had just managed to cover them, and for some of the nurses and doctors themselves to take cover when a bomb exploded right outside the widows, blowing them out in a haze of shrapnel and heat.

"Are you ok? Are you ok? Can you stand?" urged nurses.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Rafe and Danny yelled as they ran past firing soldiers.

"Get to the gun! Hurry up!" they heard as they passed. Rafe and Danny had run into the hanger office, where Danny called Earl. Gooz was hiding under the desk with his useless boxing gloves.

"Earl!" came the yelled answer.

"This is Walker! We need to get those planes fueled and loaded right now!" Danny yelled back.

"What's going on out there? Huh?" asked Gooz in shock.

"Danny, what the hell's that noise? You guys doin' target practice, or somethin'?" Earl asked.

"I think World War II just started," Danny said into the phone.

Outside, Red was still trying to get up into his plane when a bomb was dropped and it bounced all the way into the blind Billy was loading his gun. Men scattered out of the blast radius, but Billy fell in his haste and saw that the little propeller on the bomb was still spinning.

"It's a dud," he said in relief. "It's a dud!" he yelled.

But then it exploded. Poor Billy not seeing that the propeller had stopped. The explosion blew the blind, Billy's gun, and the front of the hanger to smithereens throwing back Danny.

"Danny! Danny, are you all right?" Rafe yelled urgently.

"I'm all right," Danny replied as Rafe pulled him to his feet.

"All right let's go! Come on, let's go! Gooz, come on, man!" yelled Rafe, steadying Danny.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The bombardment of Pearl Harbor continued. The men below decks of the USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah were frantic as they took on water, but were trapped behind sealed bulkhead doors. The men on deck of the USS Oklahoma were equally as frantic, as the ship tilted as it sank. Men holding on with one hand for dear life to the railing. The other hand attempting to hold onto friends and fellow shipmates.

For the Japanese, it became a free for all. Not about hitting the ships anymore, but firing into the water, gunning down the sailors attempting to swim away from the suction of the sinking ships.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Rafe, Danny, and Gooz all yelled to their compatriots to get into the car, as Danny was taking them to the airfield for planes under maintenance.

"Where's this place we're goin'?" Rafe asked urgently as Danny drove.

"We got a small mechanic runway about 10 minutes away," he replied quickly. "It hasn't been hit yet."

Anthony, Gooz, and Red all yelled at Danny to drive faster, seeing the five planes on their tail.

"We've got Zero's on our six!" They were followed for a few heartbeats before Gooz yelled, "DUCK!" just as gunfire rained down on them, and the Zero's passed.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

One of FDR's cabinet ran with the files and telegraph right up to the President, the file falling from the his hands as he read the contents, crumbling the telegraph in his hand.

"How bad?" he asked in fear.

"It's still not over, sir," the cabinet member replied.

"An entire fleet at anchor! My God. My God!" he whispered in horror.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Nurses were directing the still incoming tidal wave of injured from the harbor to empty beds.

"Barbara, fill every syringe you can find with morphine!" ordered Evelyn as she helped a severely burned soldier onto a table, having run out of beds and cots log ago. She went out into the hall, to see more people flooding the ward.

"Fill up the kitchen! Fill up the ki- Are you listening to me?! Fill up the kitchen!" Pans and foods were thrown on the floor as men were brought to be laid down onto the stainless steel counters.

"Over there! Over there!"

"We've got a neck wound here! We've got a bad neck wound!"

"Surgery! Move!" Yelled Evelyn as she rushed to assess. "Go on, get him to surgery! Oh, God. In here!"

"He's still bleeding! I need another hemostat! Hemostat! Give me a hemostat now!" yelled a doctor. Farther into the ward. Sandra was shaking in fear, but needed to do the job.

"Gimme another hemostat! And another suture! Hurry!" yelled the doctor. Sandra was so scared and harried, she dropped the tray with the instruments.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" she wailed. Sandra didn't even try to go back to the cabinet to get fresh instruments, she merely picked up what she dropped and handed them with shaking hands to the doctor above her. "HERE!"

Evelyn looked down at the neck wound she was assessing. "DOCTOR!" she yelled. She herself was starting to feel overwhelmed, as she removed yet another soaking bandage from the officer's neck. Arterial spray landed all over her uniform. Evelyn had to stop the flow, but though she had the training to staunch it, she did not have the training to fix it.

"Am-Am I gonna die?" asked the officer as he shook from cold as his blood was no longer warming his body. "Am I gonna die? NURSE!" yelled the officer. Evelyn balked, but quickly enough, stuck two fingers into his neck to stop the blood flow. "Don't leave me!"

"Doctor, get over here!" yelled Evelyn. A doctor rushed over, but froze at the sight.

"My fingers are plugging his artery! Doctor what do you need?" she asked.

"Don't leave me," whispered the officer again.

"Doctor, focus, look at me. What do you need?" Evelyn asked once she gained his attention.

"He-Hemostat," stuttered the doctor.

"Hemostat," she repeated, turning to get the necessary instrument. "Here. All right, look at me," she urged the officer. "You're gonna be all right, all right? You're gonna be all right," she comforted as his shaking intensified.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Back on the Japanese carrier, Commander Genda conferred with Admiral Yamamoto.

"We have bombed battleship row and the major airfields. Now we must hit the smaller airfields," he tells him, pointing to said airfields on a map laid out in front of them.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"I need more ammo! I need more ammo, Ladies! I need more ammo!" yelled earl as he loaded another jeep with rounds.

"Earl!" yelled Danny as he skidded the car to a stop. "We good to go?"

"Yeah, mostly, but-"

"Get down! Get down!" yelled Rafe.

"Shit! Get cover! Jesus!"

"Holy mother of..."

Earl grabbed a sawed off from the back of the jeep and began firing on the planes above them, as everyone else ran into the hanger.

"Come on, you guys! Earl, get in here!"

"Hey! Sergent! They come back around we're gonna need more than a shot gun! You got any other weapons and ammo so that we can lay down some cover fire?" Rafe yelled at him.

"Yeah, inside that ammo locker!" he yelled back, pointing to the locker behind them. Everyone bar Rafe and Danny headed to the locker, as they approached Earl.

"You said 'The planes are mostly ready, but-' But what?" Danny asked.

"Well, she's down, she's broke, she's shit. I got four left. One's good to go, two need ammo, one needs fuel," Earl said, pointing to each plane in turn.

"Fall out, and load up in the bunker," ordered Rafe as the men got their fire power. Everyone ran out onto the strip, taking cover in a blind as Danny gave out orders.

"All right, Anthony, Red, you two stay here and man that .50 caliber. Good, you get up to the next bunker and lay down some cover fire, all right?"

"Planes," whispered Gooz as he readiest the .50. "Should we fire?"

Red loaded a clip into his gun, and readied one in the chamber.

"Stay down! Stay down! No goddamn it. Hold your fire! Stay still! Nobody fire!" Rafe ordered as three planes flew over head. "They don't know we're here."

"Stay down."

"Fire?"

"No, no, no, no goddamn it! They don't know we're here! Stay down, just stay still. Don't fire."

"I don't see any ordnance. I think they're goin' home," said the camera man.

"No, they'll be back, we still got planes on the ground," Rafe tells him, turning back to the others. "All right, you pilots, listen up. Get all the air speed you can comin' off the run way. Don't get on the stick 'til you get to the very end. When you get in the air, stay low between the buildings. You see any Zero on your tail, try to wipe him off. Don't freeze, all right, just keep moving. We're gonna try and break 'em up, and separate 'em."

"Then we can take 'em out one by one," says Anthony.

"That's right. P-40's can't outrun Zero's, so don't try," advised Rafe. "We're just gonna have to out fly 'em."

"We got high level bombers! They'll but this hanger wide open! Grab the .50's! Let's move!" yelled Earl, lowering his binoculars. The pilots scrambled out to the planes, ducking as the Japanese began strafing the strip. A bomb fell on the hanger, and blew it all to hell.

Gooz managed to bring one down with the .50 as Joe began rolling out onto the strip. But just like a hydra, three more took it's place, right on Joe's six. He didn't get far as all three simultaneously fired on him, and just as he was getting airborne, the engine was hit, and blew, sending the plane crashing back to earth.

Danny was staring at the scene with wide eyes. "What are you doin'? Get goin'! Get movin'!" Anthony urged, as he heard Rafe over the comm.

"Danny, start that thing up and get in the air, now. I'm not much good without a wing man. I need you!"

"I gotchya!" Danny said, snapping out of it. "Let's do it!"

Both boys got rolling as the Japanese upped the ante and began bombarding the field non stop.

"It's real tight, Rafe! It's real tight!" Danny said.

"Hey, Rafe. I'm not sure we have enough runway!" Danny said.

"Get your air speed up before you leave the dirt!" reminded Rafe.

"Don't freeze. Don't freeze." Danny repeated to himself. They finally managed to get into the air, but Danny was headed straight for the first building in their path.

"I don't think I'm gonna make it up over this!" It was a close shave, but they were both soon airborne.

"We did it! I'm up!" Rafe yelled, looking over his shoulder to see if Danny made it.

"We got Zero's behind us, Rafe!" yelled Danny, slightly panicky.

"How many do you see back there?" as they began taking fire.

"We got 5 on our six!" Danny replied.

"Take it down to the deck, Danny, now!" Rafe ordered. As they flew mere feet off the ground. It did no good. The Zero's were keeping pace.

"We gotta split 'em up, Danny. You take left, I'll take right." As they split at the control tower.

"Earl, you better get some guns in that goddamn tower up there!"

"Okay! Okay!" Earl replied over the comm.

"Danny, I got 3 on my six," Rafe said. But it seemed the boys on the ground managed to down one as he passed them.

"I've still got 2 behind me, Rafe," Danny said, trying to shake them. Both fly boys were doing everything in their power to out maneuver the Japanese's superior planes.

"Earl, do you hear me?! Goddamn it! Get some guns in that tower!" Rafe ordered.

"On the tower, yeah. Goin' ten stories up. It's a long son of a bitch," replied Earl.

"Rafe, they're all over me! I can't get 'em off me!"

Somewhere in the mix, another Zero latched onto Rafe, making it three again.

"Danny I still got 3 on my tail. Keep shakin' 'em. Don't let 'em get a handle on you."

"I can't shake 'em, Rafe!"

"Goddamn it. Danny, let's play some chicken with these Jap suckers." Rafe said. Danny breathed some in relief finally having a plan.

"All right, I'm with you. Jesus!" Danny exclaimed as he once more took fire.

"I'm comin' right at you Rafe!"

"Don't nreak 'til I tell you. Hold on..." Rafe ordered as the got closer and closer. "Not yet! Not yet!"

"Come on! Come on!" yelled Danny.

"Go left! Now!" yelled Rafe as both he and Danny jerked the stick left missing each other's bellies by inches, causing four planes to crash into each other as they failed to pull out in time.

"Whoo! We got 'em!"

"Okay, we're in the top of the tower," they heard Earl say over the comm.

"Earl, I got one on my tail, I' ll bring him right by you," Rafe said, so they could be ready. You better be cocked and locked when I come by!" Rafe flew close, right by the tower. The Zero on his tail, never knew what hit him, as he was so focused on Rafe. Earl and the boys in the tower managed to hit him through the cockpit and down he went.

"Whoo! Good shootin' boys!" Rafe praised. "Nice shot, Earl! Let's head over to battleship row!" Rafe told Danny.

"I'm with you," Danny replied.

It didn't take them more than a hand full of minutes.

"Let's go do some business," Rafe said.

"I'm goin' after 'em," Danny affirmed, as he started shooting on a Zero, bringing it down. "Rafe! I got him!"

"They're pulling into the clouds, Danny. We ain't gonna let these sons of bitches get home!" Rafe said, pulling up into the soup with the Japanese. "How do you like someone shooting back at you?"

Rafe began firing on a Zero he had in his sights. Rafe thought that even though they had the better planes, he and Danny were the better pilots. "Oh, I'm on your ass now." He put the hammer down, spraying bullets all over the air as the Zero seemed to fly right into them, and going down in a spinning fireball.

"Yeah! I got one!"

Danny wasn't going to let Rafe have all the fun. He was chasing down his own Zero, but it seemed this one had a pilot that was halfway competent, as he didn't just fly in one direction but threw in a few twists and turns. "Come on!" Danny said, occasionally letting bullets fly when the Zero was in his sights, but he wanted to save what he had. That was until the Zero was right in a kill zone.

"Come on! Stay in there! Stay in there!" Danny urged, as he laid down continuous fire, clipping the Japanese wing just enough to bring it down. "Whoa!"

"I got you, you son of a bitch!" Rafe said, shooting the tail off another as it tried to gain altitude.

Not that it did him any good.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Back on the carrier, Japanese officers were relaying a comm from the attack commander.

"Colonel Fuchida reports, "Tremendous Victory. Many ships destroyed." Commander Genda takes the news to Admiral Yamamoto with a bow of respect.

"Out of 350 planes, we have lost only 29. We are prepared to launch a third wave, Admiral."

"We no longer have surprise. We will withdraw the third wave," the Admiral told his subordinate. This was a surprise to the Commander. He thought the attack was going better than planned, for them to pull out now was unthinkable to him.

"Admiral." But the officer had made his decision. They would hold the third wave.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Back at the mechanic airfield, Earl, Gooz, Red, and any other surviving pilot in their group rested in the rubble and aftermath of the attack as Danny and Rafe landed their planes. Earl was impressed with Danny's skills in the air. He knew the kid could fly, but that was on a whole other level.

"Who taught you how to fly, lieutenant?" he asked Danny as he took off his comm.

"He did," Danny said, looking to Rafe.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Back at the hospital, men were still coming in, and they were beyond overwhelmed.

"Sandra, we're running out of Morphine. So you gotta- you gotta mark 'em. You gotta find some way to mark 'em, so we can keep track of who's got morphine already," the doctor told the nurse as he tried to stabilize his patient so he could have his leg amputated. Sandra grabbed a pen from nearby, but it wouldn't mark.

"Tell me about your ship. What ship are you from?" she asked her patient as she tried to mark him. "It's not marking. Ev, have you got a marker?!"

Evelyn looked in her purse but the only thing she could come up with was, "Use my lipstick! Put 'M' for morphine," she said, marking a soldier.

"Ev, we need a tourniquet!" the doctor yelled.

"Tourniquet!" Evelyn looked in the cabinet, but it was empty. "There's nothing left!" she said before she rolled off one of her stockings.

"Evelyn!" urged the doctor as she came back.

"Here, use this," handing him her stocking.

"I need you to go outside. There's too many to help. Ok. You gotta sort 'em out. Only those that can be saved you bring in. You got that?"

"I can't..." Evelyn whispered in horror.

"No, please, do it! I need you to do it!" the doctor said in a panicked voice. "Go! Go!" he ordered.

Evelyn ran down the ward and outside, She felt it was an impossible task, with men who looked like half done barbecue walking in under their own steam, people with missing limbs, and other's with dead looks in their eyes. She went up to a triage doctor on the outside and got his attention.

"Don't look at anyone without a mark!" she said before she dove in head first.

"Get back! I told you stand back!" he said, trying to halt the hobbling hoard.

"Stay outside!" Evelyn told the incoming paramedics. "Keep 'em outside!"

Evelyn walked up to a man being supported by a sailor and wrote an 'M' on his forehead. "Wait here!" Then she went over to a young man on a stretcher.

"Don't touch me, you Jap! Get your hands off me!" he yelled at one of the men carrying his stretcher.

"He's critical. Get him into critical!" the triage doctor tells her as she writes a 'C' on his forehead.

"Critical, front ward!" she yells to the medics.

She was stopped by another man being supported by another medic.

"How b-bad am I," he asked tearfully. Evelyn looked down to see a horrendous gaping wound in his gut.

"Oh, you're gonna be just fine, sweetheart."

"I don't want to die."

"You're not gonna die, sweetheart. I've got your hand," she tells him softly as she writes an 'F' onto his forehead, before looking up at the medic supporting him.

"Do you have enough morphine to make him comfortable? He's not gonna make it," she asks the medic. But she doesn't stay for an answer.

"Line the critical up in the ward!" Sandra yells, as Evelyn directs another man.

"Get him morphine. Take him over there!"

"EVELYN!" she heard behind her in a frantic voice. Evelyn turned to see Betty supporting an unconscious Bella. "Evelyn, I need your help!" Betty cried.

Evelyn ran to Betty, and brushed the hair out of Bella's face as she checked her pulse. It was slow, but steady. Evelyn wrote a 'C' on her forehead.

"We've got a critical!" Evelyn yelled as she guided Betty towards the ward, taking Bella's other arm and wrapping it around her to help Betty support her weight. They immediately got her in to see a doctor who checked her over, only to discover a gaping wound in her side.

"Hemostat and sutures, now!" he yelled.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Petty Officer Miller rowed through the carnage in a salvaged life boat, trying to find any of his friends or even any of the men he had boxed with. He was unlucky, as he could see no one. Not far off, Admiral Kimmel was looking at the same carnage with hate and sadness in his eyes.

"Admiral," his Aide said, gaining his attention as he handed Kimmel a telegraph. "From Washington."

"Attack by Japan considered imminent," read the Admiral. He looked up at the aftermath. "They're only an hour late," he said dropping the paper into the water.

Petty Officer Miller finally found something, but it only made his heart sink farther. The tattered and sopping flag of the sunken Arizona.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Congratulations," bowed an officer to Admiral Yamamoto. The Admiral, however, didn't feel like celebrating. Too many years of conflicts were working against him, as he got a bad feeling along his spine.

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant," he replies.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Danny and Rafe looked on in horror as they took in the carnage they found waiting for them at the hospital. They found an exhausted Evelyn with hands full of saline and blood ready for transfusions. She looked up with tired eyes to see them, and swallowed hard. She really didn't want to be the one to tell them.

"How can we help?" Rafe asked.

"Rafe. Danny," she croaked. Evelyn cleared her throat and tried again. "You two need to follow me."

Rafe and Danny didn't like the defeated tone she got. And the way she lead them, it was as if she were leading them to hell itself.

"You need to prepare yourselves," she tells them, stopping at a screened off area. She took a deep breath and then pulled away the curtain to show Bella, laid out on the bed, a blanket pulled up to just under her arms. Danny gave a pained yell as he rushed forward, taking her face in his hands.

"Bella?! Bella, sweetheart, please!" pleaded Danny.

"What happened?" he heard Rafe asked hoarsely.

"Betty said they were running just behind us, when Bella pushed her out of the way of a falling bomb. One Betty didn't even see, until it exploded. She managed to drag Bella here all on her own. The doctor says she is stable, but only time will tell if she has managed to avoid getting an infection or if she will even wake up. She lost a lot of blood."

"The baby?" Danny asked urgently. Evelyn shook her head.

"I didn't even know she was pregnant, and the doctor didn't say anything. I guess only time will tell on that front as well." Danny couldn't take any more. He buried his head in the bed beside Bella and sobbed as he held her hand in one of his and laid the other over her stomach, praying the child in her womb was still with them. Waiting was hell, especially when it involved those you loved.


	8. The Pain of Separation

**_A/N 9/12/2018: Man...things have been hectic. I was so glad to be able to get just this chapter finished and up. P.s. Remind me never to get a cat..._**

Alice was looking through a magazine of next season Channel when the vision hit. Only this time it wasn't of the future, but the past. At least she thought it was the past, because everyone was dressed as though it were the '30s or '40s. They were also running for their lives as bullets hailed down on them. Looking up at the planes shooting people on the ground, she saw the red dot of Japan.

"Japanese planes?" Looking around some more, she saw that there were palm trees, and in the distance, the ocean. It clicked then. "Pearl Harbor, 1942."

It was then she finally saw her. Alice saw Bella running along side a blond in yellow, and ducking when the Japanese began strafing those on the ground. "NO!" Alice screamed when she saw Bella push the blond out of the way of the bomb as it blew in front of them. She watched helplessly as Bella was thrown into a nearby car, the blond getting up and rushing to her, as her vision focused back into the real world.

"Ali? Alice!" her mate, Jasper urged. "Baby, what's going on?"

"Jasper! Bella, she-she's hurt! But something is wrong. She was in the past. She was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked," Alice rushed out.

"Sweetheart, calm down. I'm sure she's just fine," Jasper said, but Alice needed to know. She rushed to find her cell and dialed the number she had deleted long ago but never forgot. It rang and rang, but there was no answer. She hung up and tried the house phone, but again there was no answer. There was only one more number to try, but she was hesitant to use it. It was after all, the Chief's number.

Taking a steadying unneeded breath, she dialed Billy Black. It rang three times before there was an answer.

"Black residence," said a tear leadened voice.

"May I speak to Billy Black, please?" Alice asked. There was a growl at the other end. One that was not possibly human. It seemed there were once again wolves in La Push.

"What do you want, leech?" the voice said, suddenly hostile.

"Bella. We only wanted to know if she was happy. We left so we wouldn't interfere in her life anymore, and wanted to know how she was getting on," Alice said. There was more growling from the other end of the line now, as if more of the pack had been summoned to the Black house. But it was the choked sob she focused on.

"Isabella Swan is dead. You leeches left a mess. A red headed, red eye leech was passing through when Bella crossed paths with her. It seemed the leech just wanted to play, because Bella wasn't drained. The red head caused an accident, and Bella went through her windshield, severing her carotid. She bled out in minutes. We tried catching the red head, but she got away, diving into the ocean. Why don't you make yourselves useful and clean up the mess you left behind." Then the line went dead. Alice stood there in shock as she heard her family descend into chaos. Esme was sobbing into Carlisle, Emmett was sobbing into his hands, Rosalie rubbing his back with a sad look on her face. Jasper just growled before he started yelling at Carlisle.

"I warned y'all she was trouble. I told you, if you destroy one mate, you destroy them both. But pure gold shone out of Edward's ass, didn't it?" Jasper then ignored Carlisle, taking out his own phone.

It rang once before there was an answer. "Major."

"I need you to find a vampire for me. Red head. Was mated to a tracker until last spring. Last known locale the Pacific Northwest."

"On it," before the line went dead. Jasper looked back at Alice.

"Any idea on when her funeral is?" he asked gently. Alice looked, then sobbed.

"Best guess, two days. There will be wolves there, and I can't See with them in the picture." Jasper nodded.

"We'll leave now. That way, we'll be there on time when it happens." Everyone went their separate ways to mourn their lost friend, daughter, and sister. It looked like they were headed back to Forks.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Bella blinked her eyes open to see stark white. Not the sterile white of hospitals, but pure white nothingness. She couldn't even see what she was standing on, and it gave her the creeps. She tried to think on how she got here. What the last thing she remembered doing was. It wasn't easy, but the only thing she was able to come up with was running and the sound of explosions both big and small. Bella sighed. She didn't like it here, and just wanted to go home.

"Hello?!" she yelled into the white abyss. No answer. "Stupid question but," she mumbled before shouting, "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!"

"You do know you don't have to shout, right?" said a male voice behind her. Bella spun on her heel to see a youth with her hair and dark brown, almost black eyes. Those weren't her eyes exactly, same shape, but the color was all, "Danny."

The young man shook his head. "No. I'm not Danny. I'm who will be your son." Bella's hands went to her lower stomach and the small bump there.

He chuckled. "Not yet. That's my elder sister. But you needed someone to explain things to you."

"What happened?" Bella asked.

The young man who will be her son tilted his head. "You pushed Aunt Betty out of the way of a bomb. The concussive force that would have killed her, grazed you. It threw you back and a piece of the concrete that was the road, took a good chunk out of your side," he said, pointing to Bella's now bloody top. Bella gasped and hoisted the shirt up to see the damage.

"My baby? Is she-?"

"Angel is fine. I promise. But what happens next depends entirely on you," her son said.

"What do you mean?"

Her son sighed. "Do you have a name? I can't keep thinking you as just my son. Even if you are," Bella smiled.

"Raphael. You wanted to name me after Uncle Rafe, but still give me my own name. People tend to just call me R.J."

Bella smiled, "R.J. it is."

"As for what I mean, well, this is an in between. You aren't dead, but in the real world, you are in a coma. Dad's frantic," he said.

Bella shook her head. "I doubt that. He had Evelyn to comfort him. They'll have a son themselves after all."

R.J. shook his own head, "No, ma. Time doesn't work like that. Everything depends on the smallest decisions. The big things, like the attack are fixed points, yes. Those you can not change. But the normal everyday things of a person can change. Especially for you."

"Why? Am I just fate's favorite punching bag? I didn't even know time travel was possible!"

"Not fate. Fate actually is rather miffed because she keeps having to reweave your tapestry. No, it's Death himself that follows you. Only it's not to claim your life. I don't know why, only he can answer, and I don't think he's inclined to do so, but Death has blessed you. Seriously mom, didn't you ever wonder why the vampires let you go? In all of history, no human has met a Cold One and lived to tell about it. No one until you, that is."

"Blessed me?" Bella asked skeptically. "Why would Death go and do a thing like that? I would almost rather have died at the hands of those vampires than what they put me through, though I'm happy they didn't kill me. And that doesn't answer my question about time travel."

R.J. groaned in exasperation. "You never do forget details when it's something you want. Okay, from the top. Death blessed you because Death blessed you. I don't know why, that's above my pay grade. As for the time travel, that was an unexpected but happy development. According to Death, old man Walker entering your life was a fluke. But once he did, Death saw the compatibility of your souls. But it would have been improper according to society and down right cruel to you, for you to marry a man at the end of his life while you were just starting yours. So, Death made it possible to send you back. Mind you, he had to bend the rules so far, I'm surprised it was allowed, but it was."

"How did he make it possible?"

"The powers that be can not interfere in the lives of men. Unless, they tread on their domain. You were dying. He tried to send you back before you had your heart broken by Cullen, but a vampire isn't dead enough, seeing as they still have their souls. But when the red head caused your death in the accident, well, that was firmly his domain. He used his powers to send you back to 1940. Everything from there is all about the little decisions. Interestingly enough, the outcome of your time there correlates to whether or not you meet Danny at all during your time in the 21st century. If you hadn't, and you went back and died in the attack, you would die, he may or may not die, and the cycle repeats. If you had met him, you would go back with foreknowledge,"

"Exactly, which is how I know that Danny wouldn't be frantic at me lying in a coma right now," Bella said sullenly.

"Again, you forget. Decisions. Dad and Auntie Ev didn't do anything in that hanger. It got close, but they both felt wrong, and realized they loved other people, even if Auntie Ev thought Uncle Rafe was dead at the time."

"What?!" whispered Bella in shock. "You mean he's still mine? I didn't lose him?" she asked him urgently.

"You didn't lose him," R.J. smiled. "Right now, though, he is pleading with you to wake up, afraid that he'll lose _you."_

"I have to go back! I have to get back to Danny!" Bella said frantically.

"Hold on a moment, you'll go back. I have to finish my message first. Death threatened me with nonexistence if I don't tell you," R.J. said with a smile and his hands out in a halting motion.

"You can smile about that?" Bella questioned with a raised eyebrow.

R.J. shrugged. "He didn't mean it. Death is actually pretty cool. He wanted me to tell you though, that because he has blessed you, you and those you love will have augmented life spans. You will still die. Death always takes what is his, not even vampires are immune to that. But you will live longer. Say around 5 centuries or so. Only, Angel gets longer."

"Why would she get longer?" Bella asked.

"You aren't going to like it," R.J. said, running his fingers through his hair nervously.

"I already have my suspicions," Bella said. R.J. nodded.

"She's mated to a vampire. One of the Volturi leaders."

Bella blinked. "But Aro and Caius already have mates. And Marcus lost his centuries ago," Bella said in shock.

"Because you are so close to Death, both physically right now, and metaphorically as he has blessed you, and because you are his pseudo-god daughter, he is giving Angel the soul of his lost mate Didyme. He says she came to him too soon, and you would be the perfect parents for her."

Bella balked. "Didn't Aro kill her?" she asked in a worried whisper.

"A rumor, I promise you. It was the Romanian coven that killed her when she unluckily crossed their path."

Bella breathed in relief. Now she just had to keep her daughter away from the Romanian coven. Easy enough. As she was lost in thought, she felt her son's arms wrap around her.

"Don't worry so much, ma. With Death on your side, there's nothing you have to worry about," R.J. said. Bella chuckled.

"That makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside," Bella snarked. R.J. chuckled.

"Like I said, Death is actually a pretty cool guy. But for now, it's time for you to go back." Bella hugged her son one more time before stepping back.

"So how do I do this?" she asked. R.J. pointed to her feet.

"It's already begun. Just relax and close your eyes. You'll know when you get back, trust me."

"Famous last words," murmured Bella before she did as she was bid. She closed her eyes and thought of Danny. The transition from death was painless. But the sensation of life was excruciating.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Three days. It had been three long, painful days, as the dead from the attack were found and sorted. Then there were those that were unaccounted for. Those that were still within the ships when they sank or blown to unrecognizable pieces by bombs. Danny didn't pay any attention to it. He stayed by Bella's side the entire time, holding her hand, and praying she would come back to him. He hadn't been away from her longer than it had taken to clean up from the attack.

Today was no different. He sat by her bed side, holding her tiny hand in his, as he leaned his forehead against them as he willed her back. The tears hadn't stopped coming. They fell in a continuous stream down his face, until he finally passed out from exhaustion.

This was how Bella woke. She gave a small whimper when she felt the pain and the familiar pull of stitches in her side. She then felt a weight on her hand and looked over to see Danny out cold, leaning in a very uncomfortable looking position onto her bed. She reached over with her other hand, and gingerly brushed his fringe away from his forehead.

"Danny," she whispered. Danny stirred at the sensation of his hair tickling his skin as it moved and a whisper of his name.

"Hhmmnn? Bella?" he asked in his still sleep addled voice. Seeing that her eyes were indeed open and she was moving, Danny was fully alert. "Bella!" He practically yelled as he leaned towards her and placed the gentlest of kisses on her forehead.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! Please, I'll do anything, just don't scare me like that again!" Danny pleaded with her.

"Danny. You're here," she said softly.

Danny sat on the edge of her bed, taking one if her hands in his. "Where else would I be?"

"Evelyn," she whispered, not completely remembering her conversation in the in between fully yet.

"Oh, Jesus, Bella I'm so sorry. I promise, nothing happened. Evelyn and I are just friends. She is still very much in love with Rafe, and I can't get you out of my head for even a moment," he rushed out. Danny laid his head gingerly on her stomach, so as not to upset her sutures.

"You left me," Bella said, keeping her voice low.

"I know. I know, and I was so stupid. I'm sorry for being the world's biggest jack ass, and I'm sorry for brushing you off. Especially when you needed me," he said into her stomach, his voice cracking at the end as sobs wracked his frame. Bella's other hand, which had fallen to her side after she woke Danny, lifted again to his hair, as she carded her fingers through it, soothing him until his sobs quietened to sniffles.

"It's okay, Danny. It's okay, I love you," she whispered over and over, calming him. Eventually, he raised his head again, hearing her words.

"I love you, too. So much I couldn't breath when I first saw you laying here. Knowing that I may never hear you laugh, or talk about the future together. I wanted to find you the night before the attack, but Rafe said you needed the sleep."

Bella reached out, and slowly, so as not to hurt herself, pulled him down so he was laying next to her.

"I've been trying to tell you, I'm pregnant, Danny," she said with a smile, though she is sure he already knew that. Danny chuckled.

"Are you now?"

"I am. And do you know what? We're having a girl."

"A girl, you say? My family always has boys, are you sure?" Danny asked playfully. Bella nodded, pulling him closer.

"A girl. I thought we could name her Angel, since she survived the attack with me."

Danny ran one hand down over her stomach, covering his daughter. "Angel sounds perfect."

And for the first time in four months, Bella and Danny fell into a peaceful slumber

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

The Last Post was blaring through the hanger that housed row upon row of flag covered coffins. There were so many, that they spilled over outside and farther into the air field. It took some time to convince the doctor to let her go to the mass memorial, but he said so long she stayed in a wheel chair and didn't push herself too far, she could go. Danny wheeled her into the hanger and they stopped by the casket set aside for Billy. Fun loving Billy, who had such dreams. He was the first friend they lost to this war, and Bella was dreading losing more.

It was then Red came up to her, He and Betty had been to see her, but today he looked pale and sad and not a little bit terrified.

"Hey, B-Bella, I just wanted to say, t-t-thank you for saving my B-B-B-Betty. I don't know what I would have done if one of t-t-t-these coffins were for her," he said. Bella smiled up at him.

"You and me both, Red. Thankfully, neither of us has to know." Red leaned down and gently hugged her, moving out of the way so Betty could do the same. Red then turned to Danny.

"You hurt her again, you're only going to have one way to land your plane," he said seriously, and without stuttering. Danny stiffened for a moment before nodding.

As they all were walking out, a Major came up to Danny and Rafe, who saluted the man as their superior.

"Lieutenants Rafe McCawley, Daniel Walker."

"Yes, Major," said Rafe.

"You're both going stateside. You fly out in 2 hours," he said handing them their orders.

"What for, sir?" asked Rafe.

"Ask Colonel Doolittle," the Major said before walking away.

"Yes, sir." Danny looked at his orders, then to Bella. They were both pale at the directions he and Rafe just received. The ride into town, and to the tiny hotel they were staying at until they got the barracks sorted and made safe again, was silent as an empty church. Danny never let up the firm grip he had on Bella's hand.

"I don't want you to go, Danny," Bella said. "I'm afraid if you go, you won't come back. I've only just gotten you back." Bella began to cry at the thought of losing Danny.

"Shh, Hey. Hey. I'll come back. I'll come back, I promise. I have to marry you and see Angel, now don't I?" Bella looked up at Danny in surprise.

"You-you want to marry me?" she asked. Danny froze before closing his eyes in defeat. After a moment, he seemed to gather himself.

"I wanted to do this right. But it seems I have no choice thanks to me shipping out and my stupid slip of the tongue. So, Bella Swan, will you marry me?" Danny asked, as he was on his knees in front of her wheel chair. He slipped his hand into his pocket, and pulled out a modest gold band with a small solitaire diamond on it.

"I didn't think you'd want anything flashy and impractical, seeing as you work with your hands," he murmured. Bella chuckled, before taking his face in her hands.

"It's perfect," she whispered with a kiss. "And yes. Yes, Danny, I will marry you." Danny's smile was mega watt worthy as he leaned forward to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. Pulling back he slipped the ring onto her finger, before kissing the ring where it now rested.

If Bella thought the anticipation of Danny leaving was bad, the actual event threatened to break her in two. She, Danny, Rafe, and Evelyn were all on the runway, willing the next few moments never to happen. Danny turned to Bella.

"Wait for me?" he asked.

"That's one thing you'll never have to ask me to do," she said.

"We can get married when we come back. A small deal at the local church, just you, me, and two of our closest friends each," he said. Bella smiled, even if hot, painful tears were making their way down her face.

"Sounds perfect." Danny kissed her, not seeming to get enough the last two hours. He then knelt down in front of her to speak to their daughter.

"And you, Angel. No early arrivals! I want to be here and be the first to hold you after your momma, all right?" he asked, running his hand across Bella's tummy. Just then, they both felt a soft nudge right under his hand, as if in answer. They both gasped at the sensation in surprise.

"Angel, indeed," Danny said in awe.

"I'm surprised she nudged already. Everyone says it's still too soon!" Danny smiled.

"I'm glad I was here for it. That I got to have one normal moment as a soon to be dad." Bella chuckled.

"I have a feeling she's going to have you wrapped around her little finger."

"She already does," Danny said. Heaving a sigh, Danny stood, Bella's hand in his. "Time to go."

He leaned down, gave Bella one last kiss, then turned and trudged onto the plane. Rafe came up quick to tell her goodbye.

"Bring him home, Rafe. Bring him home safe to me," she pleaded.

"I will, little sister. I will." Rafe leaned down to hug her goodbye as well as he joined Danny onto the plane.

Bella ended up sandwiched between Betty and Evelyn as they tried to comfort her.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~~

"Follow me," said the Major as he lead Danny and Rafe through the hanger filled with bombers and into an office. "Colonel," he saluted Doolittle.

"Congratulations on your promotion, sir," Rafe said as they stood at attention and saluted themselves.

"I heard what you did," Colonel Doolittle said ominously.

"We can explain that, sir," Rafe replied after a nervous look to Danny.

"Explain what?"

"Whatever it is you heard about us, sir," Danny said.

"You mean the hula shirts you were flying in? Or the 7 planes you shot down? You're both being awarded the silver star...and promoted to Captain," Doolittle said walking over to his observation window.

"Is that the good news, sir, or..." Rafe asked uncertainly.

"You're just about the only pilots in the Army with combat experience. I need you for a mission I've been ordered to put together. You know what top secret is?" the Colonel asked over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir. It's the kind of mission where you get medals, but they give them to your relatives," he said, leaving his thought that 5-1 a man dies on such a mission, out of the answer.

"Top secret means you train for something never done before in aviation history. And you go without knowing where you're going. You do it on that basis or not at all," Doolittle said, staring at them with his piercing blue eyes.

"I'll go, sir," Rafe said.

"I'll go, too, sir," Danny said, ignoring the glare from Rafe. Doolittle looked at both of them before continuing.

"By the way, McCawley, the Brits sent this over. It's your personal effects," he said, handing Rafe a wooden box that had been sitting on his desk.

"Thank you, sir," he said, taking the box and resuming his stance at attention.

"There's only one more thing I can tell you. Leave your goddamn hula shirts at home."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, Rafe had made a fire on the beach. The beaches in California were breath taking, but they had nothing on the beaches in Hawaii. Danny sighed at the pang of longing he felt in his breast for Bella as he walked up behind Rafe, who was contemplating into the fire.

"Why did you say you'd go, Danny?" asked Rafe. "You have Bella and the little one waiting for you. Don't do this. Bella was crippled by her grief for me, once she let it out. Losing you would possibly kill her in the literal sense."

"Someone has to watch you back," Danny said with a sad smile. "Honestly, I just don't want Angel growing up in a world still at war. "

"Danny don't do this. Don't go on this mission. You got nothing to prove," Rafe begged once more.

"You've been tryin' to protect me since we were kids," Danny said with a smile. Rafe scoffed and looked back down at the fire.

"Yeah, well, you do tend to need it from time to time." Danny chuckled and patted Rafe on the back as they continued to sit in companionable silence.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

All of the pilots had been lined up at attention in front of Colonel Doolittle as he prepared to give them a speech.

"This mission I'm asking you to volunteer for is exceptionally dangerous. Take a look at the man beside you. It's a good bet that in the next 6 weeks, you or he, will be dead. Everyone brave enough to accept this...step forward," he ordered. As one, every pilot on the line took one step forward. It was one of those moments in history that you had to be a part of to feel the impact of such an action.

As the Colonel led them out onto the air field, he continued with the plan. "Your grandmother could take a B-25 off on a mile long runway. Well, I'm gonna train you to do it in 467 feet. Because at 468 feet...you're dead. And once you get it up, you're gonna learn how to fly it like a fighter… 30 feet off the ground. I want you to say hello to Lieutenant Jack Richards, Navy Aviation. He's gonna help us lighten these fat ladies."

A handsome man stepped forward with a serious look on his face. Rafe didn't think he looked like much, until he started the process of having the pilots strip the bombers. Then he showed his true colors as a tyrant.

"Dump that ashcan. See that bomb sight? Get rid of it," Richards ordered.

Rafe looked out of the cockpit window to Doolittle. "Colonel, he's crazy!"

"The lady's fat!" yelled Richards.

"Listen to him," Doolittle said, only glancing up from his papers.

"She's a fat lady. We want a skinny lady!"

The training itself was grueling. They would start with the bomber on a giant yellow X at one end of the runway and attempt to get the behemoth into the air before they rolled over the white line indicating their length of runway allowed.

When Richards put forth the idea that the mission maybe wasn't thought out so well, Doolittle insisted that the planes were still too heavy and that they needed to get drastic in their approach to stripping them.

"This armored plating has gotta go. I'm sure, I'm sure. Now lose it like a skirt, son." Richards yelled at Anthony when he looked at him like he was nuts. While it did lighten the bombers, and certain pilots were able to get her nose in the air, they still kept rolling past the line on their back wheels.

"Put every man on the line, now!" Doolittle yelled to Rafe when Danny rolled by yet again. After ranting at them for a while, he decided to show the men how it was done with Lieutenant Richards as his copilot. And show them he did, getting the bomber up a few feet shy of the line.

"Well, if he can do it..." Rafe said to a stunned Danny. Seeing their commander do what they were trying to achieve and were starting to think was impossible was the impetus for the other men to set the bar high once again, and strive to achieve. It worked, and a month after their briefing in the hanger, the pilots were aboard the USS Hornet, in the middle of the Pacific, taking the same advantage as the Japanese and getting lost in the Vacant Sea.

"Well, gentlemen, now I can tell you that we're going to Tokyo. And we're going to bomb it," Doolittle said to them amidst cheers. "That comes as a special request, directly from President Roosevelt. The Navy's gonna sneak us about 400 miles off the Japanese coast and we'll launch from the carrier there."

"Has that even been done before? Taking Army bombers off of Navy carriers?" Gooz asked.

"No," Doolittle simply said.

"Okay," Gooz said.

"Any other questions?"

"Well, sir, is it even possible to land a B-25 on an aircraft carrier deck?" Rafe asked.

"That won't matter," Doolittle informed. "As soon as we're airborne, the carrier will head straight back for Hawaii."

"But if the carriers head home, where do we land?" Anthony asked.

"I have a phrase I want you to memorize. _Wo shi meigou ren_. It means 'I am an America'...in Chinese." Telling them in so many words where they were to land."

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

After the briefing, Danny and Rafe were at the bow of the ship discussing the length of the carrier.

"It ain't gonna be any easier. It's 3 feet shorter than the practice runway," Rafe said.

"Fellas?" they heard behind them, and they turned to see Doolittle approaching.

"Sir," acknowledged Rafe. Doolittle held out two medals in front of him to show. "The Secretary of the Navy gave me these."

"What are they?" Danny asked.

"Friendship medals the Japanese gave us when they were pretending they wanted peace."

"What are you gonna do with them, sir?" asked Rafe.

"We're gonna wire them to the bombs and give them back," Doolittle answered succinctly. Rafe and Danny smirked. "So what's going on?"

"Well, sir, we only have 16 planes," Rafe said.

"So?"

"Well, when the Japs hit us, they had more than 300. I mean, how much difference can we really make?" Rafe asked.

"It's not that we're afraid, sir. It's just we might die doing this, and we wanna know what it's for," Danny clarified.

Doolittle thought for a moment. "You know, at Pearl, they his us with a sledgehammer. This raid, even if we make it through, it will only be a pin prick. But it'll be straight through their hearts. Victory belongs to those that believe in it the most, and believe in it the longest. We're gonna believe. We're gonna make America believe, too!" he said as he spun and headed towards Richards, who was calling for him.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Evelyn waited for Major Jackson at his car, when he walked up.

"Excuse me, Major Jackson," she asked.

"Yes?" he asked politely with a curious gaze.

"Do you remember me?" Evelyn asked.

The Major took a good look at her before recognition took hold. "Oh, sure I do. I'm sorry, I've been meaning to thank you," he said, shaking her hand and gesturing to the scar on his neck.

"Well, maybe you can," Evelyn said. "When the news starts coming in about those boys in the Doolittle outfit, I want to be in the command post." The Major paled slightly, then got into his jeep in an attempt to brush her off.

"I'm sorry. I-uh- I don't know what you're talking about. How the hell do you know about this mission, lieutenant?" he asked, needing to know if there was a leak.

"Let's call it an inadvertent disclosure," Evelyn said, trying not to point the finger at Rafe.

"You mean some fly boy you're dating shot his mouth off," snarked the Major. Evelyn looked down.

"Actually, it's about 2 pilots. I know they're going into great danger. I just want to be there when the news comes in to tell us if they've lived or died." The Major sighed.

"Most officers would have thrown you in the brig," he edged.

"Most nurses would have gone on to someone else instead of keeping their fingers plugged in your artery," she shot back. Jackson knew he was up against a wall. He started the jeep to buy time to think.

"I can't promise you anything," he said before pulling out. Evelyn walked over to Bella and Betty as they stood nervously under the shade of some trees.

"Maybe," she told them simply. "But I'm determined. We will know if they get out of there okay, or not. I promise," she told the young, soon to be mother and her friend. Bella would have done it herself, but with her pregnancy progressing into it's eighth month, she had been put on light duty, and would be put on leave, then discharged once the baby was born. Bella wringed her hands together in nervousness, twisting her new engagement ring in an effort to comfort herself. This was worse than being stuck in the hotel with Alice and Jasper, waiting for James to make his move.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Gooz was filming Red on a super 8, as he was putting the finishing touches on an angry Donald Duck, when he had to ask.

"Hey Red, do you think they picked us to do this 'cause we're young and dumb?"

Red looked down on him. "Come on, Gooz, we're the tip of the sword." he said, climbing down, so they could all go to one last briefing. They passed Danny, who was wiring the Japanese medals to the bombs that were all dedicated. Danny's was to his Beautiful Angels. As they were being loaded, Gooz took out a box.

"All right, in honor of our trip to Japan, I got us some, uh, Victory Cigars!" he said, holding up two cigars, and passing them out. "Yeah, there you go. Put that in your inside pocket, next to your heart."

Doolittle and Richards looked down on the spectacle and smiled.

"You know, Jack, we may lose this battle, but we're gonna win this war. You know how I know?" Doolittle asked.

"No."

"Them," he said, pointing to Danny and Rafe. "'Cause they're rare. In times like these, you see them… stepping forward. There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer, Jack."


	9. The Element of Surprise

**_A/N 9/12/2018: Late night, but so worth it!_**

Colonel Doolittle was holding a little pow wow of all of the lead pilots to go over last minute details of the plan, only he wasn't all that happy with some of the news from Washington.

"My friends in the war department don't want me to lead this raid, because they say I'm too valuable," he tells them, not pulling any punches. "They don't want me up in the air flying with the men that I've chosen, that I've chewed out, cussed out, pushed to the limit… and that I've come to respect. They want me to stand on the flight deck and wave off. Well, I don't see it that way. So I'm going with you."

This caused a stir amongst the pilots. Though they greatly respect the decision, he was their commander, and they too thought him valuable.

"We take off tomorrow afternoon, drop our fire, and head for China. Our mission is to hit military targets, aircraft and tank factories."

"Colonel, you've given us homing beacons, but you also told us China is overrun with Japanese troops. What do we do if the beacons are switched off?" asked a pilot in the back of the room.

"You bring her down any way you can, and do your best to avoid capture," Doolittle answered.

"What do we do if our planes are damaged and we have to bail out over Japan?" Anthony asked.

"Well, in that situation, I can't tell you what you should do," Doolittle said.

"What would you do, Colonel?" Rafe asked, clarifying the question.

Doolittle thought for a couple of heartbeats before answering that question.

"I wasn't built to be a prisoner, so I would have my crew bail out. I'd find the sweetest military target I could and drive my plane right smack into the middle of it, and kill as many of those bastards as I could. But that's just me."

There were mixed reactions among the pilots. Some pilots were shocked, some were reserved, all had their respect for the Colonel jump up a notch.

"I'm 45 years old. I'm an old man. You guys have your whole lives ahead of you, so what you do is up to you," he said before leaving them to think on his answer.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Evelyn walked quickly beside Major Jackson into the control booth.

"The mission will launch in a couple of hours. You'll stay right in here," he said, as they entered a room busy with typewriters and secretaries.

"Here. Stay here. Don't talk to them. They won't talk to you. Pretend to type whatever information we pass you. That's it," he said, sitting her down at a desk and walking away.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Back on the carrier, Danny was writing a letter to Bella. He couldn't believe that it had been nearly three months since he had last seen her, and the pain of not being there with her to see his Angel grow within her womb pained him something fierce. He looked at the small photo he had of her. It was the one Betty took when they had first arrived at Pearl. Her hair was whipping about her face, obscuring half of it, but it was the smile she had that warmed him. The boys were listening to the radio that was picking up a station from Tokyo, agreeing with the announcer's statement that the enemy would get their men in the South Pacific. Danny had no doubt that it was some sort of code, but he was focused on his letter.

On the bridge, the radio operator went into a panic as he heard something.

"Japs transmitting! Japs transmitting!" he yelled out. "Captain, radar reports Japanese patrol boats, range of 400 yards."

"How many yards?" Doolittle asked to confirm.

"400 yards and closing, sir."

"Richards, Japs! 400 yards! Let's go!" Doolittle yelled to the Lieutenant as he went farther into the bridge so he could see with line of sight.

"Admiral Halsey's ordering the cruisers to open fire! We gotta sink these Jap boats before they give away our position. Go to General Quarters!" ordered General George Marshall.

The alarm for General Quarters was blaring as all of the sailors dropped what they were doing and headed to their battle stations.

"This can't be good!" Rafe said as he watched the men scramble to their positions, with Danny coming up beside him.

"Man your battle stations. All hands, man your battle stations," a voice over the P.A. sounded.

"Japs one mile away. They reported our position," said Admiral Spruance.

"We're supposed to launch 400 miles away. How far are we now?" Doolittle asked.

"624 miles," stated Captain Mitscher. "What do you want to do?"

Lieutenant Richards was attempting to do some math, trying to figure out it the planes will be able to get to China after bombing Tokyo if they launch from this far out. His answer was not encouraging.

"I don't know," he finally said, "Colonel, I don't know if the planes can carry enough fuel to make it to China."

"Now. We launch now!" Doolittle said to the Captain, who nodded to the Admiral.

"Army pilots! Man your planes! Man your planes!" the order went out. Danny had just been getting dressed, fixing his shirt sleeves and looking out of a port hole when the order came.

"They're shootin' at somethin'," he said, as the other pilots scrambled.

"Let's go! Let's go! It ain't a drill!" Rafe yelled as he grabbed what was left of his gear and ran out, Danny on his tail. Not moments after the sailors had spilled onto the deck, the Army pilots followed. Richards intercepted the Colonel as he followed his men.

"Colonel! We're too far out to make it! These planes need more fuel, but if they're too heavy they may not get off the deck!" he yelled before he continued on in a hurry.

Doolittle stopped a gunner, "Listen, I want you to strip everything out of this plane you don't need, and I mean now!"

Rafe yelled up into his bomber. "Start pre flight! Let's go!"

"Add 10 more cans of fuel for each plane!" Richards yelled at a deck hand. "Every plane!"

Danny and his crew ran to their bomber, getting in and starting pre flight checks.

"Let's go! Move!" 

"Come on, guys! Get up there!" Danny yelled, helping his men into the plane.

"Lose those suitcases now! What's your favorite gun?" Richards asked into Rafe's plane. A gunner looked at him like he was insane.

"What?!"

"You want to get off this deck? You give me a gun, now!" Richards orders. "It's still too heavy!" The gunner pulled a .50 caliber and handed it to Richards, who turned to the soldier following him. "You, I want you to go to the kitchen, get some broomsticks. Cut 'em down, paint 'em black, and bring 'em here! We'll put a broomstick where this gun was."

"A broomstick?!" the gunner said.

"What are you doing to my plane?" Red asked when he finally came upon them.

"Your plane's gonna be fine. You tell your crew to take a piss before they take off, or we're not gonna clear the deck," Richards told Red.

Danny walked angrily up to Rafe, two haphazardly painted broomsticks in his hands.

"We've got broomsticks for tail guns," he spat.

"Yeah, maybe it'll scare 'em," Rafe said. They looked at each other for a moment in worry.

"You take care of yourself up there," Danny tells Rafe.

"Yeah, I will. Danny, be careful, you hear me?" Rafe said.

"I will. I'll see you, Rafe," he said as he turned to his bomber. Rafe was about to do the same when he heard his name called.

"Rafe! We're the tip of the sword!" Gooz said, pointing to Rafe. Rafe didn't verbally answer, just raised his fist.

All of the bombers started their engines. Danny looked over at Gooz.

"You ready for this?" he asked. Gooz nodded.

In another bomber, Doolittle was running through his checks with his co pilot.

"Superchargers, low and latched!" the co pilot said. Doolittle confirmed.

The helmsman came up to the Captain. "We're full in to the wind!" he tells him.

"More speed! More speed!" demanded the Captain to the bridge behind him.

The flag was raised, and Doolittle gave them the thumbs up, letting them know he was good to go. He turned to the Captain and the Admiral watching on an overlook and saluted them, which they returned. It was then he saw his co pilot continuously crossing himself.

"Are you nervous?!" he asked the younger man.

"No- Yes, sir. Yes."

"When did you find religion?" asked the Colonel.

"When you assigned me to this mission, sir."

Doolittle nodded. "I want you to do me a favor."

"What's that, Colonel?"

"Pray for both of us," Doolittle said. For never let it be said that there were men more superstitious than pilots, sea farers, or ball players. Doolittle saw the signal, and gave the order.

"Let's go!" Both he and his co pilot closed their windows, and went max power. Everyone waited with baited breath, hoping that the planes were light enough to make it off the deck. The relief was palpable to the extent that Richards bowed low, his forehead right on the deck of the carrier.

From there, every plane made it off the decks, immediately flying into formation towards Japan.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

 **From Berlin, Rome, and Tokyo, we have been described as a nation of weaklings and playboys who hire British or Russian or Chinese soldiers to do our fighting for us. Let them repeat that now. Let them tell that to General MacArthur and his men. Let them tell that to the soldiers who today are fighting hard in the far waters of the pacific. Let them tell that to the boys in the flying fortresses. Let them tell that to the Marines.**

The broadcast had been sent all over the country. Bella heard it in her home, as she ran her hand over her child growing within her. Evelyn heard it in the control booth for the Doolittle mission. And the pilots flying towards Japan heard it, taking courage at the words that showed their president had faith in their actions.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"That's Japan, right there, fellas. Tighten up back there! Man your guns!" Rafe warned.

"We're in the enemy's back yard!" Doolittle yelled.

"All right, look alive back there, I see coastline," Danny warned his crew men.

"Heads up, boys! Heads up!" Warned Doolittle over the comm as the bombers crossed from sea to land.

"Man your guns back there," Danny hollered behind him.

"I'm cocked and locked!" replied his gunner.

"Get ready you suckers!" Muttered Anthony. He had a bone to pick about their attack on Pearl. They all did.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Evelyn typed one letter at a time, slowly with single digit points as her full attention was on the open door of the control room. She watched Major Jackson with his head set on, listening to the radio chatter of the raiders over Japan, and envied him his direct link to her men. She couldn't take it any more, she had to get closer.

Taking a stack of papers in hand, she walked seemingly calm to the file cabinet next to the door, watching Major Jackson the entire time.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"Approaching targets for bombing raid! Open bomb bay doors! Open bomb bay doors!" Doolittle ordered.

"Ripley, you got a target in sight?" asked Rafe.

"37 degrees! Target in sight!" Ripley confirmed.

"All right, boys, let's knock their clocks off!" Rafe said.

"Drop your ordnance!" Ordered Doolittle.

"Bomb's away!" Danny said.

"One away!" yelled Ripley.

"Bomb's away! Bomb's away!" yelled Rafe.

"Two away!" The explosions began to sound below them. "Three away! Four away!" Ripley continued to yell as one by one he dropped their personalized weapons.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"We caught 'em by surprise!"

"Dropping ordnance!"

"Bombs away! Bombs away!"

Evelyn heard over the radio, through the open door. She could recognize Rafe's voice anywhere, but she had yet to hear about Danny… Was he alright?

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"We hit our targets! Good job, raiders!" said Doolittle over the comm.

But it was just the beginning. The element of surprise was no longer on their side, and the farther inland to Japan they got, the more vulnerable they became. It was then they started taking anti aircraft fire.

"God! Jesus- What? Shit!" Rafe said as shrapnel started making swiss cheese of his plane.

"We got flak everywhere!" he said into the comm.

"Go down there and get Gooz!" Danny yelled to the man behind him.

"I want everyone to separate!" ordered Doolittle into the comm.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Evelyn finally heard Danny, but what she heard only made her heart stop. It seemed that now they were taking fire, and the chatter over the radio seemed chaotic and unintelligible.

"Clean that up!" ordered Major Jackson. "Try and clean that up!"

"Yes, sir."

"They're shooting flak at us!" she heard Rafe yell over the radio. Evelyn gave up all pretense, and leaned more towards the door, only for it to shut and cut off all sound when a man entered the room with a cup of coffee.

Evelyn could see Jacksons lips move, but she no longer had sound. The wait was killing her, and what she heard did little to encourage her. At the moment, she wouldn't dare relay any of this to Bella, for fear that the stress it would cause would send her into labor.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

"We gotta try and get out of this shit, Gooz!" Danny said, shutting his window. It was then flak was shot too close to their bomber, piercing it's vulnerable skin and causing a ricochet and a fire.

"We got a fire! We got a fire!" Danny yelled, shucking his hat.

"Tail's hit!" Gooz says.

"The electrics! We got a fire back here!"

"I gotta short this out!"

"Get into them clouds, Danny, right now!" Rafe yelled at him. "God damn!" he added as his plane got hit.

"Red, go check that out."

"Yup!"

"We're getting covered up here!"

"Just hope they don't hit a prop," Danny grunted, trying to maintain control of his craft as more flak penetrated.

"I'm hit!" yelled one of his crew.

"They're gonna tear this plane apart," he said, looking about, and trying to gain altitude.

"Red, take it up, 800 feet," as he was peppered with more shots.

"Hey, I think Theo's dead! Theo, wake up!" cried a radio operator in Rafe's plane.

"Get into the clouds, Danny, right now!" yelled Rafe again into the comm. "Get up in that soup!"

"All right. We're gonna pull out of this, Gooz! Come on," Danny says.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

In the gardens of the White House, President Roosevelt sat thinking about America's roll in this war. His thoughts were interrupted when a white rose was presented to him.

"Thank you, George," he says to his ever helpful, silent, right hand man. He was once again brought around to notice General Marshall standing next to him, giving him a salute.

"What is it, General?"

"Colonel Doolittle had to advance his execution order by 12 hours, Mr. President. There will be no homing beacons. The plane carrying them crashed en route to China, and our bombers may lack the fuel to reach the mainland, anyway, sir," the General said thickly.

"So our boys are flying blind on empty tanks. God help them," the president said heavily.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Red fiddled with the beacon receiver, hoping to get something, only to get frustrated and hit the thing when it refused to work.

"We're still no gettin' a signal," Rafe said dully.

"All ocean, no land," said Danny.

"Homin' in on nothin'," Gooz put in.

"How many cans of fuel we got left?" asked Rafe.

"These are all empty!" yelled the gunner.

"Is this all you got?" Red asked, grabbing a hold of the lone can of fuel.

"That's all we got, Red!"

"Rafe! You better pray for land!" Red yelled up to Rafe.

Doolittle looked over to the young man who was his co pilot. "Break radio silence," he said. He couldn't take the nothingness any more.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen. You're all brave souls. Among the bravest I've ever had the privilege of flying with. But we're on our own."

"This really was a suicide mission," Rafe said sadly, thinking about Danny and how he'll never get to see Bella or his baby girl.

Danny didn't say anything. He only took out the picture of Bella he carried with him, wanting to see something other than the vast horizon before him.

There was a spluttering coming from the side of Rafe's plane.

"Engine one is fluctuating. We're gonna lose it any minute," Red said, watching the altitude.

Rafe began pumping a lever. "Rafe you gotta prime it!" Red says.

"I'm primin', how 'bout now?" Rafe asked. The propeller seemed to gain a second wind as it once again began working as it should.

"I see the coast. I see the coast!" bellowed Rafe.

"Copy that, Rafe! We're gonna make it," Danny said, his heart lifting.

"Yeah," Gooz intoned. Never was much of a talker, but he too felt happy to see land once again.

"Danny, follow me, now. We can make this. I can see the coast right now. It's only a few miles out. Follow me," Rafe tells his friend.

"We're followin', Rafe. We gotta find a soft landing spot."

"I'm pushing up on two," Rafe tells Red. "Hold on, it's gonna be a hard landing! Hold on! I see rice paddies, right there. We'll bring it in right here."

"Oh, God. Engine one's dead," Red says as the propeller sputters and dies for good. "We're gonna lose engine two any second." Red spins around to look out his side to see if the propeller is still spinning.

"We can make it in. Easy. Pull it back, and glide it in, going in on fumes," Rafe says. But his heart stops at seeing white tents with red dots on them.

"Japs! We got Jap patrols all over the place!" he warns over the comm. "There's Japs everywhere! Danny, land somewhere else! Strap yourselves in boys, we're goin' in hard!"

"We're a dead stick," Red tells him, trying to gain some control back from the unresponsive falling tube of metal.

"Get out of the nose!" Warned a gunner as they were gliding down.

"Hold on, boys! We're going down!" Rafe yelled. "Watch the trees!" They crashed hard on their belly, sliding for nearly a quarter of a mile through the paddies before they came to a stop in a shallow pool.

"Everyone all right?" asked Rafe once he regained some sense. He knew Red was ok. He could hear the man coughing up a storm in the thick smoke.

"I'm all right!" yelled one of their gunners.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," Red said. "Where's Ripley?"

"He's dead," Rafe tells him. "Watch for Japs!"

They had only managed a few breaths of clean air away from the wreckage, when Rafe yelled.

"Jap patrols! Take cover!" In no time, they were under fire. Though they gave as good as they got, firing back with small hand guns.

"Who's got extra magazines?" Rafe asked when he emptied his clip.

"I got 'em!" Red yells, handing him two of the extras he carried.

"Gotta get up into those hills, find the Chinese!" Rafe says, firing a now fully loaded pistol at the Japanese scouts. "They got us pinned down!"

Just as he was about to charge, at least he was thinking about it, Rafe heard the tell tale sound of a plane incoming...fast. He looked up to see another B-25 as it began strafing the Japanese just beyond his own crash. Rafe watched in horror as the bomber straight up crashed. No sliding or gentleness about it. It flew apart in pieces once it hit the ground.

"Danny!" Rafe yelled, running from his position of cover.

"Rafe! Rafe, no!" Red yelled but followed.

"Danny!"

"Rafe, you don't have a chance!"

Japanese began popping out of the rice paddies like gophers when one plays whack-a-mole, and Rafe shot all of them in an effort to get to Danny.

"God damn, Danny!" he yelled once he got close and saw the full extent of the damage.

"Come on!" Red yelled, racing ahead.

"Gooz? You ok, man?"

"Danny?" Rafe asked, coming up on a body. "Aw, shit, Anthony." Rafe checked his pulse, but didn't find one.

"Gooz! Can you hear me?" Red asked the quiet man.

"Yeah," Gooz said in a daze. Red lightly slaps him on the face.

"Come on."

Rafe finally finds Danny, propped up against a broken bit of plane with a chunk of shrapnel stuck in his neck. "Easy. Easy, easy," he tells the younger man.

"I've had better landings," Danny snarked through the pain.

"You saved us back there," Rafe said.

"I got somethin' in my neck."

Rafe looked at it. "Let me pull this out."

"Where's Gooz?" Danny asked.

"He's fine. He's right over there," Rafe tells him. He tries to pull he bit of metal out of Danny's neck, but before he could, he hears a sound. Turning, Rafe gets the butt of a gun right to the face as another Japanese patrol rushes forward in a hail of angry unintelligible words, and pointed guns.

"Rafe!" Danny yells at his stunned friend as all of the pilots put their hands up, so they aren't shot. A Japanese soldier puts his rifle to Danny's head, and Rafe comes to, having his feet bound in thick rope.

Danny tries to breath through the fear and the pain as a oxen yoke is brought forward and places on his shoulders. Rafe looks to his friend and can't stand the fear and resignation he sees in his eyes. While the attention was on Danny, Rafe manages to scoot towards a dead Japanese soldier and grab his pistol, swinging it around and shooting the two enemy soldiers that bound his friend, then the ones at his feet.

He went to shoot farther afield, but the gun was improperly maintained and jammed when he went to shoot it. The soldier he had aimed at, swung his own rifle around to fire when Danny tackled him out of the way. Only he couldn't do anything about the three soldiers behind him. Danny felt three different shots enter him. He couldn't feel the pain at first, stunned that his body just seemed to freeze at the sensation of being shot.

Red managed to grab a gun from another distracted guard and shoot him in the chest before Gooz found another, more wide spread solution.

"Grenade!"

Before the Japanese could reload and fire again, the grenade went off behind them, flinging them forward. Danny fell under the weight of the yoke and the pain of the wounds now coursing through him.

"Danny. Danny!" Rafe said, unbinding his feet and rushing towards him. "Danny! Oh!" he exclaimed seeing the damage. Rafe went for the most immediate concern, getting the yoke off of him.

"Rafe!" Danny moaned.

"Hold on. Hold on, now. I got you. You're all right. You're all right."

"This- this hurts like a son of a bitch," Danny said to Rafe.

"Yeah, I'll bet. What gave you the hair brained idea to go and do a thing like getting shot?" Rafe demanded.

"Had to save your hide for Ev," Danny said, breathing heavily through the pain.

"Yeah, well, Bella's gonna kill me! Your woman is scary when she's pissed." Danny choked for a moment.

"An-any chance I could bother you for your coat? Gett'n col-" Danny trailed off.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, Danny! Danny, come on, you gotta stay awake for me!" Rafe urged. But Danny didn't stir. "Danny? Danny!"

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

It took them a week to get home after Evelyn heard that they had been found by the Chinese. There was no word on who had lived through the raid, and that point was killing her, Bella, and Betty. Evelyn was a nervous wreck, but Bella, a full 9 months pregnant, was beyond so. It was a condition that was not good for either her or Angel. They all waited on the tarmac for the plane to stop rolling. The anticipation was thick in the air around them, as family and friends waited to see if their pilot would walk out of the plane or be carried out in a coffin.

As soon as she spotted Rafe, Evelyn smiled. But the smile faded once she saw him carrying a stretcher behind him, the prone form of Danny lying on top of it. Bella cried out in horror, her hands covering her mouth in an attempt to hold in the sobs. Betty wheeled her forward as she saw Red behind them. All three nurses went up to their pilots. Evelyn and Betty jumped into Rafe and Red's arms, while Bella sat by Danny being carried between them.

"Danny?" she asked cautiously.

"Told you I'd come back," he said in a pained and hoarse whisper. Bella gave a single sob at his voice.

"I expected you back in one piece, Captain. Surely that wasn't too much to ask for?" Bella chuckled.

"You should have specified," Danny said.

"I'll be sure to remember that for next time," Bella said as he nodded off.

"He'll be all right, Bella. It was a close call. He lost a lot of blood, but thankfully, nothing too important was hit, and they were able to patch him up," Rafe said.

"You said you'd take care of him, Rafe. This is not him being taken care of!" Bella cried.

"Shh, Bella. Shh. You need to calm down. The stress isn't good for Angel. Breath," Betty said.

"I can- I can't. It's too much! It's too much, I can't loose any of you!" Bella sobbed. Betty continued to rub soothing circles onto Bella's back, but the expectant mother was inconsolable at the sight of her lover. She sobbed so hard, that Evelyn and Betty almost missed the pained cry that was slightly different from the others. Bella's hand immediately went to her stomach as a wet spot formed in her maternity dress as she sat in her wheel chair.

"Oh, boy!" exclaimed Betty. "Time to get you to the clinic, Bella. I'm sure Danny would benefit from a visit as well."

Bella grabbed a hold of Danny's hand as they were both taken side by side to the hospital. Danny managed to waken for a few moments on the ride there, where Red told him that Bella went into labor. Danny tried to look around to see her, but it was a one person ambulance after all. Not seeing her anywhere only drove Danny to panic, but Red told him that bringing a baby into the world took time. That he might as well get what rest he could so he could try to hold Angel later. Danny nodded and a tear slipped from him at his inability to do anything at the moment.

Bella cried out in pain as another contraction hit her. If Renee had ever told her how much childbirth had hurt, she might have thought twice about having a kid. Betty and Evelyn said that they could give her something for the pain, but Bella was skeptical about it's risk to the baby in 2005, there was no way she was going to have drugs she didn't know about in the 1940's. No, she would stick this out like birthing mothers had been for centuries before. That didn't stop her yelling her head off though.

It took hours for her to be dilated enough, according to Evelyn, for her to start pushing. By that point, Danny was able to stay awake, even if he was in another part of the ward. With every scream and cry from Bella, Danny had to wonder at how the human race continued if procreating hurt this much.

"Okay, Bella. Your body will tell you when to push. You'll feel it with the next contraction. When that happens, push with everything in you, all right?" Evelyn asked.

Bella nodded her sweat soaked head. "Yeah, okay," she said through her gasps. It didn't take long for the next contraction. They were moments apart now. So as the next one hit, Bella pushed as Betty cheered her on. Bella loved her friend, she really did, but her bubbly personality was really pissing her off at the moment.

"Okay, Bella, hold on," Evelyn said, signaling to Bella she could take a momentary, and it was just that, momentary, break. Because with the next wave of pain, Evelyn encouraged her to push again. With one last battle cry, Angel slid from Bella's body, as Bella slumped back in relief and exhaustion. The cry of a newborn filling the halls of the hospital.

"Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but you have a girl. And one with a set of lungs, too," Evelyn said, handing the tiny bundle to Bella.

"Angel," she breathed. Bella's entire focus was on the pink, wrinkly, and brand new new born in her arms as Evelyn delivered the placenta, and cleaned Bella up. "My little Angel. Hello," she whispered as she soothed her daughter.

Once Angel was calmed, Bella, very reluctantly, handed her to Evelyn so she could take the baby to see Danny. It took a bit to rouse him again. Being so injured, it was exceedingly hard for him to stay awake, but at the mention of holding his daughter, it seemed as if all of the fatigue magically left him. With help from Rafe, Danny slowly sat in an upright position before Evelyn placed the sleeping infant in his arms. Danny's breath caught at the sight of the life in his arms. He was in awe, terrified, ecstatic, protective, and in love at the life he was now responsible for. But she was here. This life both he and Bella had waited anxiously to meet.

"Ho-how is Bella?" he asked after he managed to pry his eyes away from his daughter.

"She's good. Exceptionally tired, so she is taking your lead, and is sleeping, but she should be up and around tomorrow," Evelyn said. Danny was surprised.

"So soon?!" Evelyn and Betty laughed.

"Men," muttered Evelyn.


	10. And Back Around Again!

_**New Years, Y2K**_

Life moves on. In the blink of an eye, the war had ended and the atrocities of World War II became history. It was surprisingly easy for Bella to tell the others, Rafe, Danny, Evelyn, Betty, Red, and Gooz, about their extended lived. Of course, at the time, they all thought she was joking. That she was still a little out of it from the pain of birthing Angel. But when a decade or two passed and none of them had so much as a single laugh line, then they all took her seriously. She sat them down again, and told them all the full story. And again, they all took it very well. At least until Bella told them about Angel being mated to one of the Volturi kings.

Danny blew his top. Even though at that point, Angel was nearing 30, he had yelled outright that his little girl was too young for such a man. When Bella pointed out that he would consider her too young if she were all of their ages combines, he still didn't let up. It took her until the turn of the bloody millennium to get him to even consider a visit to Italy. They were all nervous, especially when a small girl with vibrant red eyes and white blond hair pulled back into a severe bun escorted them all into the throne room.

Aro, who had introduced himself first, was practically beaming his happiness at the small party they made up.

"Jane! Dearest, I see that you have brought our guests, thank you," he said to the little blond before she bowed and stepped away. Bella, being the one with the experience when dealing with vampires, stepped up and offered her hand in introduction. She had a vague memory of Edward telling her about his gift when she spotted Carlisle's painting of the brothers, and thought that if he was able to read her thoughts, it would cut down the explanation needed, and if he couldn't, he would be interested enough to let them explain.

"Lord Aro, thank you for this opportunity at an audience. Especially today of all days," she said without preamble. Aro looked a little shocked at her audacity to walk right up to a man who, for all intents and purposes, was her predator. It was a flash of a second, and would have been missed if she hadn't been looking at him so intently. Aro's smile returned to his face and he took her hand in both of his, and then froze once again.

"Nothing," he murmured. Bella nodded, knowing what he was referring to. She looked over to her husband.

"Danny. Would you mind?" she asked. Danny steeled himself and walked up to the vampire, offering his own hand. Aro looked at Bella in astonishment for a moment more, before turning his attention to Danny, who's hand he then took.

Aro took the time to search through the young man's memories, and was amazed to find that he was a man out of his time. Every human that had walked in here was, even the young woman who was displaced to the past. She had found a home there. Letting the younger man's hand go, he let out a loud guffaw.

"What is it, Aro?" snapped the blond leader. Caius, if Bella could remember his name right. Aro didn't answer, as he continued to look at the couple in front of him.

"May I meet her?" he asked in awe. Bella nodded and gestured to her daughter.

"Angel, come," she said simply. Angel stepped up next to her parents and looked at Aro. Something inside of her cried out in pain and jubilation.

"Hello, Aro," she breathed. It was at this point that the final leader, by elements of deduction had to be Marcus, shot his head and attention up to see the company in front of his brother. His breath caught at the young woman in front of Aro.

"Didyme," he gasped. Angel's attention shifted to Marcus and she gave him a small smile, and shook her head once.

"In this life, my name is Angel," she tells her mate. Marcus was before her in a mere moment and lifted his hand nervously to her cheek.

"How is this possible?" he begged of her. Angel looked at Bella.

"Would you explain it, ma? You are the one with all of the details," she asked her mother.

It took Bella the better part of two hours to convey everything that had happened to her, and how they were the way they were. Everyone in the throne room was bewildered and confused, particularly when it came to the fact that Bella had been blessed by Death himself. When this point was brought up, Bella only shook her head and said that she wasn't going to question the greater power, only say thank you for the opportunity that he had presented her with and roll with it.

The family was happy for a time in Volterra, but they eventually went home to Hawaii, leaving Angel with her mate. It was a bittersweet goodbye, especially for Danny. Angel was his little girl. The miracle that had made it through the attack at Pearl. Once they had reached home, Bella looked at her husband.

"You know, when I was in a coma after the attack, I saw our son, not Angel?" she said off handedly. Danny looked at her with a questioning gaze at first before he gave a salacious smirk.

"Is this a hint, my love," he said softly, taking her into his arms and guiding her to the bed, and kissing down along the column of her neck.

"It may be," she said breathlessly. Even after over 60 years, this man still knew how to reduce her to mush with a few soft touches.

He made love to her slowly, pouring out all of the love he had for her in the action. Loving every moan and whimper she gave him. It took only weeks for Bella to fall pregnant. When they told Angel over one of their video conference calls, she was both excited and miffed that she would have a sibling, but they would be so much younger than her.

In 2005, Bella told everyone it was time to head to Washington for a couple of months. She even asked for Angel to be there. She said that Angel was instrument in her plan. It was a way for her to say goodbye, without having to show herself at her own funeral. That would have been just awkward.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

 _ **January, 2006**_

The funeral for Isabella Swan is quite large for a girl who had moved to the town just the previous year. Even more so, since she had cut herself off from all of her friends the past three or so months since the Cullen's had left. Tensions had risen to a peak when said Cullen's had shown up to pay their respects. The wolves of La Push, bar Jake, who had been in his own catatonic state since Bella's death, did their best to intimidate the bloodsuckers away from the gathering. Charlie himself was no help either, the father being numb, seeing his baby girl laid out for burial.

The tension was halted to a sudden stop when a young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Bella, walked through the door and headed straight for Charlie. She wore sunglasses, which was odd in a town under nearly constant cloud cover, and a modest black tea length dress and heels. But it was her scent that caused every supernatural in the building to halt. She smelled of Bella's strawberries and plumeria, but also of chocolate and coffee. Scents were usually similar to parents, so family groups could identify each other. This meant that somehow, this young woman was related very closely to Bella.

"Chief Swan?" she asked when she had stopped in front of the man. He looked up at the woman who was speaking to him and nearly gasped, seeing his lost daughter in the young woman. She knelt down to his level and removed her sunglasses. Then he did gasp, as he looked into Bella's eyes. His eyes.

"My name is Angel. Angel Walker. I knew Bella very well in Phoenix. You could say we were as close as family," she said with a secretive smile. "I'm so very sorry for your loss. I know that she loved you with everything she had in her."

It took Charlie a long moment to do anything. Unable to speak, still in shock at seeing this woman who looked so much like Bella, he slowly reached forward, taking her shoulder. At first to see if she was truly there, then he drew her into a hug, letting loose a strangled sob. Angel, for her part, hugged her grandfather in sympathy. She would admit that it was very creepy seeing her mother dead in a casket, but know that she was alive and well in the hotel they had booked a couple of weeks before.

They had read about the accident in the paper. How Miss. Swan had hit a tree and had bled out alone on the road between La Push and Forks. Bella cried, saying that it seemed she hadn't met Mr. Walker this time around. The man in question being happily married to Bella in this time. Which meant that the Bella that had died this time would die during the attack on Pearl and Danny would be alone in his grief. That more than anything, to her up inside. Angel never understood the loop her mother was in. It seemed counter intuitive, but she decided long ago to take her mother's stance her Death's blessing. Say thank you for what they had now, and not question it.

Angel stayed for the service and rode with Charlie and the procession to the cemetery, where she stayed with Charlie, offering what comfort she could. The poor man stayed by the graveside long after everyone had left. Angel stayed with him for as long as she dared. She knew that neither she nor Charlie were alone. She couldn't explain it, but she could feel something in the woods, just out of sight. Giving a sigh, she turned to Charlie.

"I am very sorry, Mr. Swan. I would like nothing more than to stay, but I'm afraid I have a flight to catch home. I only flew in from Hawaii for the funeral," she said softly, drawing the man's attention.

"Oh, of course!" he said hurriedly. "I'm sorry, I'm still so out of it. Thank you so much for coming, even if the circumstances were… well, what they were. Will you be alright to get back on your own?"

Angel nodded. "I understand, Mr. Swan. This isn't something that should have happened. I will be fine. I booked a hotel not far from here, in fact."

Charlie nodded, and looked back down at Bella's grave. "I'm just going to stay here a little longer. I can't seem to make my feet head home yet."

Angel gave him a soft hug, before giving one more soft farewell and left, walking out of the cemetery. She could feel the presence in the woods follow her from the grave site to her hotel room. She was going to pack her overnight bag, and beat feet out of the small town. Her mom had warned her about the wolves and considering she was mated to one of the vampire kings, one who had extreme reservations about letting her out of his sight for even as long as her mom's not funeral, she didn't want to push her luck. But no matter how far she got from the town, back towards her family in Port Angeles, the presence didn't let up.

Her mom was afraid of this, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Bella had said she had a plan. She told Angel that if she felt she was being followed to send a text to warn them, so that's what she did, before sitting back and relaxing into her drive back to her mate and her family. As she pulled into the drive of the house they had been renting for the past six or so months, she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was now close to allies. She got out of her car, and headed towards the house, but before she could get more than a few steps, her baby brother came barreling out of the house.

"Sissy!" he yelled, before launching himself into her arms. Angel laughed as she hugged R.J. close. She had fallen in love with the little boy the moment she laid eyes on him. Resting her four year old brother on her hip, as he leaned into her and sucking his thumb, she gained his attention.

"Hey little man, where are mama and daddy?" she asked. R.J. popped his thumb out of his mouth and pointed into the house.

"Mama and Uncle Rafe are yelling. She hit his hand with a wooden spoon," he told Angel.

"And why would mama do that?" Angel asked.

"Because he was trying to steal one of her rolls for supper. She hit him again when he said a bad word." Angel laughed.

"I see," she said, just as she heard someone come up behind her. Turning, she saw many people, vampires, come up the drive and a few of the tanned boys she had seen at the funeral. Her expression went from smiling to blank.

"May I help you?" she asked. A blond stepped forward. From her mom's descriptions, Carlisle.

"Yes, my name is Carlisle Cullen. I- we all were friends with Bella. We saw you at the funeral, and wished to talk with you about her, if we could," he said. Angel raised a brow at the man.

"And you thought the best way to get in touch was to follow me like stalkers?" This seemed to catch the man on the hop.

"Please, we don't mean you or your son any harm," said the brown haired beauty at his side. Angel sighed.

"For vampires, you are all incredibly stupid. He's not my son, didn't you hear him?" she asked blandly, shocking them all. She turned to R.J. "Hey, little brother, will you call mama for me? You can yell louder than me."

R.J. nodded before tilting his head back. "MAMA! MAMA, PEOPLE HERE FOR YOU!" he yelled. All of the vampires and the tanned boys winced at the volume of the child, but then they chuckled at his antics. Angel had to admit that it was really cute.

"R.J. What have mama and I told you about hollerin' like that for people?" said a handsome young man coming out of the house.

"Angel told me to, daddy!" the little boy said to the man. Angel let the little boy down as he ran to his father, who picked him up once again. The man turned to Angel and the others with her.

"Who are these people, Angel?" he asked.

"They want to talk. They said they were friends of Bella," she says. The man takes a good look at the strangers in his front yard and nods in understanding, before turning and yelling into the house.

"Bella! Guests for you!" he yelled. There were gasps at the name he yelled.

"Honestly, Danny. You wonder where R.J. gets some of his bad habits," said a woman coming out into the yard.

"Bella?!" exclaimed several people in the group. Bella looked up at those assembled in front of her family before letting out a heavy sigh, and looked at Angel.

"Angel, baby, will you take R.J. and keep him company for a while?" Bella asked. Angel nodded, and walked over to Bella and took her brother.

"Hey little man, how'd you like to go flyin'?" Angel asked. R.J. laughed and clapped in excitement. Danny shook his head.

"I don't know why he seems to like flyin' with you more than me or Rafe," he said with a fond smile at his son.

"Sissy makes shootin' noises!" exclaimed little R.J.

"Ah. Well, hopefully, you'll never have to know how scary the real thing is, little man. Take it from me and everyone else, bullets are scary," Danny tells his son. R.J. laughed as Angel took him out to the back 40 where the barn housing Danny's father's plane was. Even a century later, it was still in perfect working order. Danny and Bella looked at those in the front.

"Y'all had better come in. The humans among us can't stand as statues forever, even ones such as us," Bella said, turning with Danny and heading into the house. Everyone followed the couple into the house and through to the kitchen, where they found five other humans, and to their utter astonishment, Marcus Voluri.

"You're Majesty!" exclaimed Carlisle with a bow. Marcus only nodded in acknowledgement before turning to Bella and Danny.

"Where is my mate?" he asked. Bella smiled.

"Angel took R.J. flying," Bella told Marcus.

"Not to butt in here, but how are you the fuck alive?!" exclaimed one of the tanned boys. Bella turned to see who had spoken. Quil.

"Why should I tell you? Seven of you up and left without so much as a goodbye. An action, I am assured, is illegal, and will be punished, and the rest of you decided after you saved my life, that I wasn't worth even a phone call to tell me I wasn't allowed contact with you because I was a pale face. I have died, mourned you, and moved on with my life. It has been 60 years. Why should I give you the time of day?" Bella asked.

"Because you know they won't leave you alone otherwise, and you need closure, Bella," Rafe said. "We have lived through some serious shit. Even before Pearl Harbor, when you told us of your friend Jacob, I could see that betrayal hurt you."

"No more than when you and I thought Danny and Evelyn had gone and hooked up," Bella said. They all knew it wasn't the low blow other's might have thought. Both couples had talked it out, and it wasn't such a big deal to them any more.

"But we also talked things out, baby," Danny said, placing a hand on her cheek. Bella reached up and covered his hand with her own, before she kissed him softly. They heard two growls behind them and broke apart.

"Growl at my husband and I again, and I'll have no qualms sicking the Volturi guard on your asses," Bella said with her own impressive human growl. "Sit down. Might as well get this over with so we can go home."

"Back to your buddies in Volterra?" snapped Edward. Bella looked at Edward with a blank look.

"Jealousy is an ugly emotion, Edward. It doesn't become you," she said before turning away from him.

For the second time in this decade, she reiterated her story, only she didn't draw so much enjoyment from it this time, not having any other purpose than to get the uninvited guest out of her house.

"You can't expect us to believe that," snarked Rosalie. Betty snorted.

"This coming from a _vampire,"_ she said. "A species that's supposed to be a fairy story."

"I don't particularly care if you believe me, Rosalie. You, nor your coven, have any place in my life, or the lives of my family. You should be happy. I've just told you, that despite your undead status, you have a soul. That you will die someday. There is always a payment for your continued existence. Death will always claim what is his," Bella said ominously. The room seemed to darken at her words.

There was suddenly a force in the room that only one among them felt before, though she was in a coma then and it didn't feel so oppressing then. It then passed, as quickly as it came.

"Well, that was a first," Bella said.

"Bella, what was that?" asked a shaken Evelyn.

"Death," Danny said. Bella looked at her husband with a raised eyebrow. "The Doolittle Raid," he said simply. Bella nodded in understanding.

"I would leave now, if I were you. Stay out of my life if you can. And those of my family. You may see us again, you may not," she tells those in her kitchen.

"Bella, please!" begged Edward. "I lied to you. That day in the woods, I lied. I was the worst kind of blasphemy, I still love you."

"No, Edward. You don't. The way you left me proves that. No one who was in love with another would lead them out into the woods, no matter how safe they thought they were, and say what you said. You also forget Marcus's gift," Bella said.

"She is right. You are not her mate and she is not yours. The tie she and Daniel have is stronger than even mine to Angel, and her soul is that of my mate Didyme. The soul of my mate came back from death itself and the bond between her parents is stronger than that. That should tell you something young one," Marcus puts in.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Jacob simply said. Bella looked at him truly for the first time since he walked into the house. He looked like hell. He was pale, had bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't been sleeping, and his cheeks were hollow, like he hadn't eaten decently in a few days.

"I forgive you, Jacob. But I will not forget. I have moved on with my life. I have a husband I am in love with, even after 60 years. I have a daughter who is now going on to live her own life, and a son to look after. I mourned our friendship, but I've learned to stand on my own, and not rely on another. Even when I thought I hand lost Danny, I was still functioning. I would have moved on, as heart wrenching it would have been. I have grown up. You all should too," she said.

~~~~~~~~~)O(~~~~~~~~~

Danny and Bella stood on the beach in Hawaii, watching R.J. chase the tide out and back, with his arms around her and his chin resting on her shoulder. Bella breathed in a deep breath of happiness, a weight she didn't fully know she had been carrying having been lifted after she had visited Washington.

"I told you you would feel better for having talked to them," he said into her ear softly. Bella turned in his arms and gave him a passionate kiss.

"I love you, Danny," she said. Danny smiled down at her, both of his dimples making an appearance.

"I love you, too, darlin'," he said, before giving her a kiss that would've made Wesley proud.

 _ **A/N 9/16/2018: Whew! AAAAANNNNNNNDDDDDD that's a wrap! This was so much fun to write! I'm a little sad that it's over, to be honest. But now I need your help guys. I have several stories running through my head for Bella's next crossover. So, I'm putting it to a vote.**_

 _ **Bella/Chibs- an SOA cross**_

 _ **Bella/Hannibal- a Silence of the Lambs cross**_

 _ **Bella/Lost Boys (all 4!)- a Lost Boys cross**_

 _ **or Bella/Imhotep- a Mummy (The one with Brandon Fraser) cross**_

 _ **Let me know guys! I have a good chunk of all of them started, so they will eventually all be posted, I just need a starting point. Please review and let me know. Also, I'm not one to put a song to a fic, but I've been listening to Jay Sean's War this entire chapter. lol I love it, but now I just want it out of my head!**_


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